Chestnut-bellied Starling
Lamprotornis pulcher
A chunky, short-tailed, colorful savanna starling. Adults have a mostly brown head, a dark green hood and upperparts, and a rufous belly. There is a pale buffy patch in the underwing that is conspicuous in flight. Immatures are duller, with completely pale, buffy underparts. Found in dry savanna and thorn scrub, usually in small flocks, sometimes with other species of starlings. The common call is a short descending trill with a vibrating quality.
Identification
This is one of the rufous-bellied starlings, and the only one in most of its range. The pale eye differentiates it from Hildebrandt's and Shelley's starlings, while the absence of a white breast band separates it from the Splendid Starling. Predominantly glossy dark-green to blue, with a distinct dark (and not glossy) head and breast.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Lamprotornis pulcher
- Authority
- (Müller, PLS, 1776)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Lamprotornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Temminck's Sunbird
Aethopyga temminckii
Medium-sized sunbird of foothill and montane forests; most often seen hanging around flowering trees and bushes, especially mistletoe. Male is blinding crimson with a white belly, a long crimson tail, and a dark moustache stripe. Male Crimson Sunbird is similar but lacks the red tail and white belly of the male Temminck’s. Female Temminck’s is very plain and difficult to distinguish from other sunbirds; watch for a distinct gray wash on the head, a white belly, and a faint russet tinge to the wings and tail. Sings a thin, soft “tsi-tsi-tsi’.
Katanga Masked-Weaver
Ploceus katangae
This red-eyed masked-weaver has a plain olive-green back and pink-brown legs. The breeding male has a black face mask, with the black band on the forehead above the bill varying from broad in the south to narrow farther north. Female and juvenile are dull and inseparable from other masked-weavers. Pairs and colonies are localized residents of reedbeds, wetlands and adjacent woodland, in a narrow global range between northeastern Zambia and southeastern DRC. The breeding males of Katanga and Southern masked-weavers are very similar, but the former are smaller, have some saffron around the masks, and have darker green backs and rumps; breeding male Tanganyika and Lake Lufira Masked-Weavers have more burnt-orange around the face and underparts, and ranges do not overlap.
Indochinese Cuckooshrike
Lalage polioptera
Plain gray cuckooshrike with relatively little contrast overall. Male is gray with darker wingtips and a white vent. Female is paler gray with thinly barred underparts. Can be mistaken for Black-winged Cuckooshrike, of which both resident and migratory subspecies are within the range of Indochinese. Note Black-winged’s darker overall plumage, much fainter barring on the female’s underside, and more evenly spaced white spots on the black undertail (Indochinese’s white spots are all clustered together into a cohesive white blob). Inhabits open forests, particularly dry deciduous forests, as well as forest edges and gardens. Gives squeaky yelps, often heard when flying over in small flocks. Gives a descending series of high-pitched whistles.
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