 Extant East Asian starlings , such as the Bali myna ( Leucopsar rothschildi ) and the white @-@ headed starling ( Sturnia erythropygia ) , have similarities with these extinct species in colouration and other features . As the Rodrigues and Mauritius starlings seem to be more closely related to each other than to the hoopoe starling , which appears to be closer to Southeast Asian starlings , there may have been two separate colonisations of starlings in the Mascarenes from Asia , with the hoopoe starling being the latest arrival . Apart from Madagascar , the Mascarenes were the only islands in the south @-@ west Indian Ocean that contained native starlings . This is probably due to the isolation , varied topography and vegetation of these islands . 
