It is found in open habitats such as grassland, karoo scrub, thornbush and agricultural land, and often associates with farm animals.

[2] The pied 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.

[5] The adult of this 27–28 cm (11 in) long starling has mainly dully glossed black plumage except for a white lower belly and undertail.

The sexes are alike, but the juvenile has unglossed plumage, a brown iris and a dull yellow lower mandible.

[7] The nest is lined with a wide variety of plant material and items of human waste such as paper and rope.

Foraging is frequently near livestock, with birds feeding on insects disturbed by the animals and also perching on cattle or sheep to remove ectoparasites.

[6] The pied starling has sometimes been seen as a pest when it takes soft fruit such as grapes or figs, and was also itself considered good eating.