[3] The rosy starling was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

[10] The adult rosy starling is highly distinctive, with its pink body, pale orange legs and bill, and glossy black head, wings and tail.

Males in the breeding season have elongated head feathers which form a wispy crest that is fluffed and more prominent when the bird gets excited.

The juvenile birds can be distinguished from common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) by its obviously paler plumage and short yellow bill.

It can be found from northwestern Mongolia via Dzungarei, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to southern Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

In years when grasshoppers and other insects are abundant, it will irrupt well beyond its core range, with significant numbers reaching France, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The experts begin to build artificial nests to attract rosy starlings, an effort reported to be so successful that the number of locusts was insufficient to feed the birds, causing many juveniles to die from hunger.

Specific observations of preferred food types made on the feeding habits of rosy starling are listed as: Fruits and berries: Ficus (many species), Lantana spp., Ziziphus oenopolia, Bridelia montana, Streblus asper, grapes, mulberries (Morus), dates, Salvadora persica, Capparis aphylla and chillies.

Insects: largely locusts and grasshoppers, beetles of the families Lucanidae, Elateridae, Tenebrionidae, Buprestidae, Scarabaeidae and Curculionidae.