Agropsar sturninus, commonly known as the Daurian starling or Purple-backed starling, is a fascinating small bird in the Family Sturnidae. This monotypic species is distinguished by the adult male’s pale greyish head and underparts, while the upper parts and nape-patch are glossy dark purplish. The upper wing is glossy dark green with a whitish to pale buff scapular band. The feet and the bill are blackish, although it is said that the base of the bill turns pale during the non-breeding season (Robson, 2014; BirdForum, 2023). The female and juvenile are similarly patterned to an adult male, but the glossy plumage and crown are replaced with duller brown (Robson, 2014; BirdForum, 2023).

This species is known to inhabit secondary forests, forest edges, open areas and plantations including oil palm (Robson, 2014; Shahfiz et al., 2023). It breeds in Southeast Siberia, Eastern Mongolia, and North Korea and then extends its range to Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia (BirdLife International, 2016). During seasonal changes, this species is one of the local non-breeding winter visitors of Southern Thailand, Sumatra, Java and Peninsular Malaysia (Robson, 2014; BirdLife International, 2023).