Alternative name: Redwing; African Red-winged Starling
- Onychognathus morio
Identification
30cm (11¾ in). A dark starling with a rather long tail.
- Iridescent black plumage - but much less likely to show blue iridescence than for example Cape Glossy Starling
- Chestnut flight-feathers
- Dark red eye
- Black bill and legs
Females have an ash-grey head and upper breast. Juveniles resemble males but are less glossy than adults and has brown eyes.
Similar species
Pale-winged Starling differs in eye color
Distribution
Photo by Alan Manson
Giants Castle, KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg, South Africa, August 2008
Eastern Africa from Ethiopia to the Cape in South Africa.
Abundant in many areas.
Taxonomy
Onychognathus morio has two subspecies:1
- O. m. morio from eastern Uganda to central Kenya, Tanzania, the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, western Mozambique, eastern Botswana and South Africa
- O. m. rueppellii in southern Sudan, northern Kenya and central Ethiopia
Has been considered to form a superspecies with Tristram's Starling.
Habitat
Rocky cliffs, outcrops and gorges, as well as urban areas.
Behaviour
Diet
Although they are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders, their diet consists mostly of fruit.
Breeding
They build a nest of grass and twigs, with a mud base, on a ledge. The clutch consists of 2–4, blue eggs with reddish-brown spots which are incubated by the female for 13–14 days. The young fledge about 22–28 days hatching. They often have a second brood.
It may be parasitised by the Great Spotted Cuckoo.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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
- Wikipedia
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Red-winged Starling. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-winged_Starling
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
