Golden-breasted Starling
Lamprotornis regius
A slim, gorgeous long-tailed starling of dry country. Iridescent green, purple, and blue decorate the upperparts, and the belly is yellow. There is a dark mask and a pale eye. The flight is weak, with the long, thin tail flapping behind. Found in dry woodland, thorn savanna, and thorn scrub, usually in small flocks. Generally shy, but can become tame in some lodges and picnic areas.
Identification
Lamprotornis regius can reach a body length of about 35 cm (14 in). The adult has a metallic green head and upper back, bright golden yellow breast and belly, dark bill and legs, white iris and metallic violet blue on wings, back, neck and its long tail feathers. Both sexes are similar. The young are duller than the adult.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Lamprotornis regius
- Authority
- (Reichenow, 1879)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Lamprotornis
Range and habitat
The golden-breasted starling has a very large range. It is distributed in Northeastern Africa, from Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and northern Tanzania. These birds inhabit the grassland, savannah, the thickets of acacias, dry-thorn forests and shrubland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The golden-breasted starling is a social animal, living in groups of three to twelve individuals. Adults can be found from January to June and from August to November, with a peak in January.<p>The golden-breasted starling molts once a year, after the breeding season. These birds are monogamous. The female usually lays between three and five pale green eggs with red speckles. It nests in tree holes, usually in tree holes that woodpeckers have left. The nest is made from leaves, roots and other vegetation. Entire family groups cooperate in raising young by gathering food and nesting materials.<p>In contrast to other brilliant starlings, which feed mainly on fruits, their diet consists mainly of insects and termites. Adult birds catch insects in flight and dig up termite mounds to find prey. Snails, spiders, crustaceans, or small vertebrates, such as lizards, sometimes integrates the diet.
Conservation
Widespread throughout its habitat range, the population trend of the golden-breasted starling appears to be stable. The species is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rufous-crowned Eremomela
Eremomela badiceps
A small warbler-like bird usually seen in small groups or flocks foraging high above the ground in the forest or forest edge. Pale below with a distinct black chest band separating the white throat from the light gray belly, giving these eremomelas a distinctive “belted” appearance. Upperparts are uniformly gray except for a reddish cap and dark face. Overlaps locally with Turner’s Eremomela in the eastern part of its range, but note Rufous-crowned Eremomela’s extensive reddish cap and big, broad black chest band. Calls consist of a buzzy, sometimes multi-parted “brzrt,” as well as higher-pitched twittering calls sometimes interspersed with more whistled notes and trills.
Brownish-headed Antbird
Myrmelastes brunneiceps
Dull-plumaged antbird with a restricted range in the Andean foothills. Males are grayish brown with small white wing spots; females are similar, but are paler tan below. Part of the species complex previously known as “Spot-winged Antbird;” it is similar to the previously conspecific Humaita Antbird, although separated by range and habitat. Brownish-headed Antbird is found in the understory of mature rainforest along the base of the Andes, especially in areas with bamboo, while Humaita Antbird is found away from the foothills in the Amazonian lowlands, mostly in palm swamps. Its song is a descending series of rapid high notes.
Greater Bird-of-Paradise
Paradisaea apoda
A large bird of lowland and foothill forest and edge. Male has a black breast and white and yellow plumes which he raises above his back during his display, in which he variably hops about and flaps his wings, then holds them out still. May overlap slightly with Lesser and Emperor birds-of-paradise but male Greater is larger and lacks a yellow back. Female Greater is distinguished from other species by its all brown body. Male gives a typical, repeated nasal squawk.
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