Gould's three specimens were found near Erzurum, Turkey, and Gould considered them to be larger and even more beautiful than the European starlings in their finest breeding plumage. He described the colouring of the new species as purple and shining coppery-red while the European starling had a more bluish-green sheen.
The three birds are depicted lifesize. The male and female are in full breeding plumage, and a young entirely spotted bird with a dark bill, is in the first autumn plumage.
J. Gould, Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1868, p.219
DISTRIBUTION: Palearctic: Iceland, British Isles and Scandinavia east through Russia to southwestern Siberia and south to northern Mediterranean region, Turkey, Near East, northern Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, central Pakistan, northwestern India and western China. Winters further south. Introduced to many countries world-wide. The Persian Starling is no longer considered to be a valid species and is now thought to be merely the subspecies Sturnus vulgaris purpurascens