Principe Starling
Lamprotornis ornatus
A large, chunky, dark starling. In poor light, looks black, but good light reveals purple, green, blue, and copper iridescence. Most of the glossy coloration is on the upperparts, while the underparts are duller, appearing blackish with bronze highlights. Common in humid forest, plantations, and secondary habitats on the island of Principe. Usually in small flocks. Similar to Splendid Starling, but separated by the bronzy rather than purplish underparts. Gives a wide variety of scolding, rasping, squealing, and liquid notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Lamprotornis ornatus
- Authority
- (Daudin, 1800)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sturnidae
- Genus
- Lamprotornis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds

African Spoonbill
Platalea alba
A distinctive pale waterbird with long pink-red legs, a bare bright pink-red face, and an odd and distinctive spoon-shaped bill that is obvious even in flight. The juvenile lacks the bright pink-red skin and has black tipped wings in flight. It breeds colonially in heronries. The African Spoonbill prefers large, quiet, shallow waterbodies where it forages by swinging its head from side-to-side, slicing its bill through the water, searching for small fish and aquatic invertebrates. It is mostly nomadic, wandering in response to local rainfall.

Fiji Woodswallow
Artamus mentalis
A thick-bodied, highly aerobatic bird, white below and dark above with a dark chin and white cheek. Often perches on wires. Bill pale bluish with a dark tip. No similar species within its range. Found in open or forest-edge habitats. Common call is a rapid metallic “wit-wit-wit.”

Dulit Frogmouth
Batrachostomus harterti
Large frogmouth of Borneo’s central mountains. Inhabits foothill forest (typically 600–1230 m). Heavyset, with a whiskered face and bright white spots on the wings. Similar Large Frogmouth is generally found at lower elevations; Dulit has broader (as opposed to Large’s sharply triangular) white wing spots, strong pale barring on the throat, and overall darker coloration. Song is a low, resonant, melancholy-sounding “hooooo’m”; call consists of barks, typically given in pairs: “woo’WUP!”.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.