It was previously considered a subspecies of the chestnut-tailed starling.

They nest in tree holes 3-15 mm above the ground.

[1] Nestlings eat insects, lepidopteran larvae, beetles, small vertebrates, and nectar.

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2008 found that the genus was polyphyletic.

[3] In the reoganization to create monotypic genera, the Malabar starling was one of five starlings moved to the resurrected genus Sturnia that had been introduced in 1837 by René Lesson.