An omnivorous, generalist species, it prefers cliffs and mountainous areas for nesting, and has moved into cities and towns due to similarity to its original habitat.

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the red-winged starling in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.

He used the French name Le merle du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Merula Capitis Bonae Spei.

[2] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

[3] When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.

It is now common in many urban areas, due to the similarity between the structure of tall buildings and houses as nest sites with the cliffs of its original habitat.

The red-winged starling builds a lined nest of grass and twigs, and with a mud base, on a natural or structural ledge.

[9] The red-winged starling is not endangered[1] and can be a pest in some areas, raiding orchards and attacking people that wander too close to their nests.