Hildebrandt's starling
| Hildebrandt's starling | |
|---|---|
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| Adult in Tanzania | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Sturnidae |
| Genus: | Lamprotornis |
| Species: | L. hildebrandti |
| Binomial name | |
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Lamprotornis hildebrandti (Cabanis, 1878) |
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Hildebrandt's starling (Lamprotornis hildebrandti) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It forms a superspecies with and has previously been included in the same species as Shelley's starling, a migratory species ranging from Ethiopia and Somalia to Kenya. Both of these species have also been combined into a superspecies with the chestnut-bellied starling of West Africa. It was originally placed in the now defunct genus Notauges. The species is named for Johann Maria Hildebrandt, a German collector who was the first European to obtain specimens.
Hildebrandt's starling is found in Kenya and Tanzania, where it occupies open country between 500 to 2,200 m (1,600–7,200 ft). Its habitat is open woodland and open thornbrush country. The species is often recorded as being uncommon, but it varies from being fairly common to fairly uncommon. It is not considered threatened by the IUCN, and is listed as least concern. Its habitat is not threatened and it occurs in a number of protected areas.
Hildebrandt's starling is 18 cm (7.1 in) in length and weighs 50 to 69 g (1.8–2.4 oz). The adult has bright iridescent plumage on its upper body and upper surfaces. As in its relatives, this iridescence is derived from the interference of reflected light from regimented microscopic feather structures and not from pigments. The head is blue as are most of the upperparts, the wings are bronze-green with blue primaries, the throat and upper breast are glossy purple, and the tail is glossy blue-green. The middle breast and upper belly are orange-buff and the lower belly is rufous. The iris is orange-red, and the bill and legs are black. Male and female adults are identical in external appearance. The juveniles are quite different, with charcoal grey upperparts and chestnut brown lowerparts.
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Wikipedia