Pied starling
Pied starling | |
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An adult bird at Mountain Zebra N. P. in the Eastern Cape, South Africa | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Sturnidae |
Genus: | Lamprotornis |
Species: | L. bicolor
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Binomial name | |
Lamprotornis bicolor (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
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native range
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Synonyms | |
Spreo bicolor |
The pied starling or African pied starling (Lamprotornis bicolor) is a bird endemic to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. It is common in most of its range, but largely absent from the arid northwest and the eastern lowlands of South Africa. It is found in open habitats such as grassland, karoo scrub, thornbush and agricultural land, and often associates with farm animals.[2]
Taxonomy
The pied starling was
Description
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Young_African_Pied_Starling%2C_Lamprotornis_bicolor_at_Rietvlei_Nature_Researve%2C_Gauteng%2C_South_Africa_%2815864270077%29.jpg/220px-Young_African_Pied_Starling%2C_Lamprotornis_bicolor_at_Rietvlei_Nature_Researve%2C_Gauteng%2C_South_Africa_%2815864270077%29.jpg)
The adult of this 27–28 cm (11 in) long starling has mainly dully glossed black plumage except for a white lower belly and undertail. It has a white iris and yellow lower mandible. The sexes are alike, but the juvenile has unglossed plumage, a brown iris and a dull yellow lower mandible. There are no subspecies. This species has a number of calls, but the most familiar is a skeer kerrra kerrra. There is also a soft warbling song.[6]
Behaviour
Breeding
The pied starling usually nests in tunnels in river banks, but will use holes in buildings, straw bales or natural tree holes.[6] There is a record of a nest being constructed in a wrecked ship 200 m (660 ft) from the shore.[7] The nest is lined with a wide variety of plant material and items of human waste such as paper and rope. The female typically lays four eggs, though clutches of two to six are known. The eggs are blue-green, immaculate or with some red spots.[6]
The female alone incubates for 14–16 days, and the chicks fledge in another 22–28 days. Both parents feed the chicks, assisted by helpers, which are typically subadult or unmated birds. This cooperative breeding is reinforced by mutual allofeeding between adults, behaviour reinforced by the bright
This starling is commonly double-brooded. It may be
Roosting
The pied starling is gregarious and when not breeding will form large flocks, sometimes numbering more than 1000 birds. Its roosts may be shared by
Feeding
Like other starlings, the pied starling is an omnivore, taking a wide range of invertebrates, seeds and berries, but its diet is mainly insects, including many ants and termites. It will take figs from gardens and some human food discards. Foraging is frequently near livestock, with birds feeding on insects disturbed by the animals and also perching on cattle or sheep to remove ectoparasites.[6]
The pied starling has sometimes been seen as a pest when it takes soft fruit such as grapes or figs, and was also itself considered good eating. However, it is little persecuted at present.[6]
Status
This species has a large range, estimated at 790,000 km2 (310,000 sq mi). The population size has not been quantified, but it is believed to be large as the species is described as 'common' in at least parts of its range. It is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.[1]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ISBN 1-86872-721-1.
- ^ Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1789). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 2 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 835.
- ^ Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc de (1775). "Le merle brun du cap de Bonne Espérance". Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux (in French). Vol. 3. Paris: De l'Imprimerie Royale. p. 378.
- Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Nuthatches, Wallcreeper, treecreepers, mockingbirds, starlings, oxpeckers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ ISBN 0-7136-3961-X.
- ^ Brooke, RK (1995). "The wreck of the Otori Maru No.8 as a nesting site". Promerops. 218: 9.
External links
- (African) Pied starling - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds