 Günther and Newton noted that the skull of the Rodrigues starling was shaped somewhat differently and longer than that of the hoopoe starling , being about 29 mm ( 1 @.@ 1 in ) long from the occipital condyle ; it was also narrower , being 21 – 22 mm ( 0 @.@ 83 – 0 @.@ 87 in ) wide . The eyes were set slightly lower , and the upper rims of the eye sockets were about 8 mm ( 0 @.@ 31 in ) apart . The interorbital septum was more delicate , with a larger hole in its centre . The bill was about 36 – 39 mm ( 1 @.@ 4 – 1 @.@ 5 in ) long , less curved and proportionally a little deeper than in the hoopoe starling . It also seems to have had larger nostrils , with the nostril openings in the bone being 12 – 13 mm ( 0 @.@ 47 – 0 @.@ 51 in ) in length . The mandible was about 52 – 60 mm ( 2 @.@ 0 – 2 @.@ 4 in ) long and 4 – 5 mm ( 0 @.@ 16 – 0 @.@ 20 in ) deep proximally . The skull had an attachment scar above the temporal fossa . The supraoccipital ridge on the skull was quite strongly developed , and a <unk> muscle attachment in the parietal region below it was conspicuous . This indicates that the starling had strong neck and jaw muscles . 
