White-collared Starling
Grafisia torquata
The male is an unusual and beautiful starling that is glossy blue-black with a broad white collar. Females are duller, gray with paler mottling on the underparts. Both sexes have a yellow-orange eye. Found locally in savanna, montane grassland, and areas with a mix of savanna and forest. Often in small flocks, sometimes mixed with other starling species. The male is unmistakable; the female might be confused with other starlings, but is identified by the gray plumage without gloss, the short tail, and the yellow-orange eye. The calls include chirps and short whistles.
Identification
White-collared starlings are dimorphic in adulthood, with sexual differences in both size and coloration. Adult males have a glossy-black plumage save for a white patch on the chest which extends up to the wings; their bill and legs are black and a bright yellow iris. Adult females are primarily grey with black-tipped wing and tail feathers; the feathers on its crown and rump have blue-black tips. Juveniles and subadults tend to resemble the female, but with more brownish-grey feathers on their ventral plumage.<p>The white-collared starling has been reported to have both a chirruping and a call of three short whistled notes.
Taxonomy
The species was first identified by Anton Reichenow and named Spreo torquatus, from the Latin for "torquated", referring to the coloration around the neck of the male. It was later identified independently by James Chapin in 1913 in the Belgian Congo as Stilbopsar leucothorax, from the Greek λευκός (meaning "white") and θώραξ (meaning "chest"), again referring to its white collar. They were placed into its current genus Grafisia by George Latimer Bates in 1926, based on substantial differences between the white-collared starling and members of either Spreo or Stilbopsar.
- Scientific name
- Grafisia torquata
- Authority
- (Reichenow, 1909)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Grafisia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
White-collared starlings are generally found in open woodland and seem to stay in the tops of high trees, but have also been reported in montane grasslands in Cameroon They are known to feed on insects, berries, wild figs and the fruit of musanga and macaranga assass trees.<p>They have been known to travel in pairs or small groups (4-10), and in at least one case in a flock of more than 100 birds in June. Nest-building activity has been observed in March, and males collected at that time were found to have large testes; these facts combined with the appearance of juvenile species between May and July suggest that breeding occurs in the first half of the year. In one instance, a male was seen to make short circular flights from a conspicuous pearch, which was interpreted as a courtship display.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Black-throated Finch
Poephila cincta
Small finch of grassy woodlands. Mostly brown (darker above), with a gray head, black throat, black bill, and white undertail. Black tail relatively short and rounded. Masked Finch has longer, pointed tail, yellow bill, and brown head. Feeds in grasses or on the ground, sometimes in large flocks, mixed with other species. Call is a long descending whistle.
Stone Partridge
Ptilopachus petrosus
Unusual partridge that is small and dark, with a thick tail that is usually cocked up. A good view reveals red legs, red bare skin around the eye, and fine markings on the breast and head. There is some regional variation: the plumage is generally darker in moister areas and paler in drier areas. Found in a variety of savanna habitats with a thick and grassy understory, often in rocky areas. Usually in pairs or small groups. The distinctive vocalization is a series of loud “wheet” notes that rises and becomes more emphatic, usually given as a duet by a pair. Cocks up the tail like Crested Francolin, but smaller, darker, and without a bold pale eyebrow stripe.
Philippine Honey-buzzard
Pernis steerei
A fairly large raptor of lowland and montane forest. Brown above with a heavily streaked chest, a barred belly, a fairly long flattened crest coming from the back of the head, and piercing golden eyes. In flight, note barred, bulging wings and fairly long barred tail with a broad terminal band. Juveniles are much paler. Remarkably similar to Philippine Hawk-Eagle, but in flight Philippine Honey-buzzard has a narrow head which projects more from the wings. Voice consists of a drawn-out, two-noted “weeeeeeee lew” repeated at intervals.
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