Chestnut-bellied starling

The chestnut-bellied starling (Lamprotornis pulcher) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. This is a common resident in arid Sahelian acacia savanna, namely in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Togo.

Chestnut-bellied starling
Belbedji, Niger
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae
Genus: Lamprotornis
Species:
L. pulcher
Binomial name
Lamprotornis pulcher
(Müller, 1776)

Description edit

This is one of the rufous-bellied starlings, and the only one in most of its range. The pale eye differentiates it from Hildebrandt's and Shelley's starlings, while the absence of a white breast band separates it from the Splendid Starling. Predominantly glossy dark-green to blue, with a distinct dark (and not glossy) head and breast.

References edit

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2018). "Lamprotornis pulcher". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22710771A132090374. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22710771A132090374.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  • Birds of Africa South of Sahara, second edition; Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan