- Speculipastor bicolor
Identification
19cm. A small starling.
- Blue-black upperparts, head and upper breast
- White wing-bar
- White below
- Blood-red eyes
- Black bill and legs
Females have a similar pattern but are duller.
Juveniles are brown with a white belly, their eyes are brown becoming orange-red as the bird matures.
Distribution
Breeds in northern Kenya, south and east Ethiopia and Somalia. Non-breeding birds also in east Kenya and south Somalia.
Vagrants recorded in Uganda, Tanzania and southeast Sudan.
Locally common.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Habitat
Dry bush and thorn-scrub in arid and semi-arid regions. Mainly below 1200m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds mainly on fruit but takes also some insects.
Forages on the ground and in trees in flocks of up to 30 birds, sometimes up to 100.
Breeding
Breeding season from May to June in Kenya, February to April in Ethiopia, April to June in Somalia. A monogamous species, breeding solitary or in small colonies. The nest is placed in a hole in a termite mound or in a bank. Lays 2 - 6 eggs.
Movements
A nomadic species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2011. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.10). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
- 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
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Magpie Starling. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Magpie_Starling
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
