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Golden-breasted Starling - BirdForum Opus

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Alternative name: Regal Starling

Photo by volker sthamer
Yabello, Ethiopia
Lamprotornis regius

Cosmopsarus regius

Identification

30cm. A distinctive, colourful starling.

  • Glossy greenish-blue crown, nape, chin, throat and cheek
  • Turquoise lores and ear-coverts
  • Greenish-blue mantle and back, glossed with purple
  • Turquoise blue rump
  • Greenish-blue upperwing
  • Bronze, very long, narrow and graduated tail
  • Purple patch on breast
  • Golden-yellow rest of underparts
  • White eye
  • Black bill and legs

Sexes similar, females have shorter tails. Juveniles have a matt grey head, throat and breast, buffy yellow underparts and brown eyes

Photo © by THE_FERN. Samburu Nature Reserve, Kenya, November 2021

Distribution

East Africa: found from Southern Ethiopia to Somalia, eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.
Common in its range.

Taxonomy

This species is sometimes placed in genus Cosmopsarus.

Subspecies

Clements regards this as a monotypic species [1].

The proposed subspecies magnificus is usually not accepted.

Habitat

Arid savanna. Occurs from sea-level up to 1200m.

Behaviour

Forages in small groups on the ground. Sometimes associated with Fischer's Starling.

Diet

Feeds mainly on insects, takes also some fruit.

Breeding

A monogamous species. Co-operative breeding regularly observed with up to nine helpers for a pair. The nest is placed in a tree hole. Lays 3 - 4 eggs.

Movements

A resident species with some possible local movements in the dry season.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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