Burchells Starling

Description:

Length 30 cm, mass 112-128 g. Glossy blue-green plumage, bronze ear-coverts and carpal patch, purple rump, violet tail with blackish bars, dark brown eyes and black bill and legs. Sexes similar. Juveniles have matt black underparts and dull green sheen on upperparts.

Habitat:

Savanna and open woodland, Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Notes:

A common resident that occurs singly, in small groups, or in flocks, sometimes with other glossy starlings. Feeds largely on the ground, mainly for insects; also eats small vertebrates, fruit and flowers. A monogamous species. Usually nests in a hole in a tree; often an old woodpecker or barbet nest. Two to four eggs are laid October to April. Parasitised by Great Spotted Cuckoo and Greater Honeyguide. Similar species; Meves's Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis mevesii)