The natural distribution range of this starling is restricted to the island of Bali, a part of Indonesia nowadays. The birds inhabit monsoon forests and acacia savannas. Bali starlings feed on all sorts of insects, most of all ants, termites and caterpillars. Fruits and seeds are part of their diet too. They prefer old woodpecker holes for their nests.
Males tend to be very aggressive during the breeding season.
Bali starlings previously lived in flocks consisting of up to 40 individuals. The population of the Bali starling has never been large but it has been estimated to several hundreds individuals in the not too distant past. The situation became most dramatic in 1990 when just 13 individuals were found in the wild. The decrease of the population already started when the Bali starling was detected by Rothschild. The white plummage, the black wings and the blue area around the eyes made the birds highly attractive to the cage-bird trade.