Greater Blue-eared Starling
Lamprotornis chalybaeus
A medium-sized iridescent blue-green glossy starling with a dark ear-patch and contrasting royal blue to violet flanks and belly. Pairs and small groups occupy savanna, where they feed on the ground and in trees on fruit and insects; occasionally up to 300 may gather at fruiting trees. Often the species scavenges from people. It gives a cat-like nasal “squuee-aar” contact call that is distinctive. The similar Lesser Blue-eared Starling differs from Greater Blue-eared Starling by being smaller with a more compact head and finer bill, by having a smaller ear-patch, and by preferring broadleaf woodland. The Cape Starling differs from the “blue-eared” starlings by having greener ear-patches, belly, and flanks.
识别特征
The greater blue-eared starling is a 22 cm long, short tailed bird. This starling is glossy blue-green with a purple-blue belly and blue ear patch. Its iris is bright yellow or orange. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is duller and has blackish brown underparts.<p>The populations from southern Kenya southwards are smaller than northern birds and are sometimes considered to be a separate subspecies, L. c. sycobius.<p>The lesser blue-eared starling is similar to this species, but the blue of the belly does not extend forward of the legs.<p>The greater blue-eared starling has a range of musical or grating calls, but the most familiar is a nasal squee-ar.
分类信息
- 学名
- Lamprotornis chalybaeus
- 命名信息
- Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Sturnidae
- 属
- Lamprotornis
分布与栖息地
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The greater blue-eared starling nests in holes in trees, either natural or excavated by woodpeckers or barbets. It will also nest inside the large stick nests of the sacred ibis or Abdim's stork. A nest will include three to five eggs, which are usually greenish-blue with brown or purple spots, and hatch in 13–14 days. The chicks leave the nest roughly 23 days after hatching.<p>This species is parasitised by the great spotted cuckoo and occasionally by the greater honeyguide.<p>The greater blue-eared starling is highly gregarious and will form large flocks, often with other starlings. Its roosts, in reedbed, thorn bushes, or acacia, may also be shared.<p>Like other starlings, the greater blue-eared starling is an omnivore, taking a wide range of invertebrates, seeds, and berries, especially figs, but is diet is mainly insects taken from the ground.<p>It will perch on livestock, feeding on insects disturbed by the animals and occasionally removing ectoparasites.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Buru Oriole
Oriolus bouroensis
A large gray-brown oriole with a straight, heavy bill. Main field mark is an ill-defined dark mask on the feathered face. Underparts paler than upperside. Juveniles display rufous-edged wings. Singles or pairs can be found in forest, forest edge, mangroves, and woodlands in lowlands and foothills. Similar to Buru Friarbird, but dark facial area is feathered, not bare; bill shape is thick and straight; and tail is shorter. Variable song consists of around three fluty notes, often rising and loudest on final note: “ku-wuWOOO.”
Black Turnstone
Arenaria melanocephala
Fairly small, stocky shorebird with short, chisel-like bill. Dark charcoal-colored overall with white belly. In breeding plumage, look for diffuse white eyebrow and small white patch on face. Bold black-and-white pattern is striking in flight. Restricted to the Pacific coast of North America, breeding on grassy tundra in Alaska and wintering regularly to southern Baja California. Found on oceanside rocks and jetties; essentially never seen inland. Typically in small flocks, often mixed with other rock-loving shorebirds like Surfbird. Compared with Ruddy Turnstone, Black Turnstone is, fittingly, much darker: it lacks the rufous tones and bold neck pattern of Ruddy. Also note Black Turnstone's duller legs.
Russet Sparrow
Passer cinnamomeus
Well-attired small songbird typically associated with mid- to high-elevation farms, fields, and open forests throughout its range. Found in less intensively developed areas than House and Eurasian Tree Sparrows, sticking to villages and pastures and staying away from large city centers. Male has bright chestnut cap and back, whitish cheek, narrow black throat, and pale gray belly. Female brownish with broad streaks above, pale below, with white wingbars and broad tan supercilium.
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