Golden-breasted starling
| Golden-breasted starling | |
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| At Bird Kingdom, Niagara Falls, Canada | |
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| Species: | C. regius
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| Binomial name | |
| Lamprotornis regius Reichenow, 1879
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Cosmopsarus regius | |
The golden-breasted starling (Lamprotornis regius), also known as royal starling, is a medium-sized, up to 35 cm long, passerine in the starling family.
Description
The adult has a metallic green head and upper back, bright golden yellow breast and belly, dark bill and legs, white iris and metallic violet blue on wings, back, neck and its long tail feathers. Both sexes are similar. The young are duller than the adult.
Distribution and habitat
The golden-breasted starling is distributed in the grassland, savannah and shrubland of East Africa, from Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and northern Tanzania.
Behaviour
The golden-breasted starling is a social animal, living in groups of three to twelve individuals.
Breeding
The golden-breasted starling molts once a year, after the breeding season. The female usually lays between three and five pale green eggs with red speckles. It nests in tree holes. The nest is made from leaves, roots and other vegetation. Entire family groups cooperate in raising young by gathering food and nesting materials.[1]
Feeding
Its diet consists mainly of insects and termites. Adult birds catch insects in flight and dig up termite mounds to find prey.[1]
Status and conservation
Widespread throughout its habitat range, the golden-breasted starling is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
References
- Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
External links
- Species factsheet - BirdLife International
- Videos, photos and sounds - Internet Bird Collection