The brahminy starling was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

[2] The specific epithet pagodarum is Modern Latin meaning "of the temples" or "of the pagodas".

[3] Gmelin based his account on the "Le Martin Brame" that had been described in 1782 by the French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat in his book Voyage aux Indes orientales et à la Chine.

Sonnerat mentioned that the bird was found on the Malabar and Coromandel Coasts of India.

They roost communally in large numbers in leafy trees, often in the company of parakeets and other mynas.

[7][12] The breeding season is March to September but varies with location, being earlier in southern India.

The male displays by puffing up feathers, fanning the tail, erecting the crest and raising up its bill.

Incubation begins only after laying the second egg with the female brooding at night with the male share limited to brief periods during the day.

After feeding the parents wait for the young to eject faecal pellets which they carefully remove and drop about 20 metres (66 ft) away from the nest.