BIRDS of THE WORLD - An Online Bird Book
African STARLINGs and their Allies
Order Passeriformes Family Sturnidae
The family Sturnidae includes the
starlings and
mynas. Family members are collectively know as the starlings. The family also used to include the oxpeckers, but they now are thought to
be rather distant relatives. Some starling species are good mimics, and the family is related to the mimidae family of mockingbirds. Starlings are small to medium sized. They are usually dark colored,
often with a metallic sheen, but some have bright colors. Many species have very bright eyes. The starlings eat insects and fruit. They favor open spaces.
Genus Cinnyricinclus
These African starlings are found in wooded habitats of sub-Saharan Africa
Starling, Sharpe's Cinnyricinclus sharpii also
Pholia sharpii Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
John Gerrard Keulemans 2)
Kristian Svensson - Uganda
1) Pair 2) Male

Starling, Violet-backed also
Amethyst Starling Cinnyricinclus leucogaster Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Doug Jansob 2)
Dick Daniels -
North Carolina Zoo 3)
Carol Foil -
Rift Valley, Kenya 4)
Brendan_Ryan
1) Female 2 - 4) Male



Genus Creatophora - 1 species
Starling,_Wattled Creatophora cinerea Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Carol Foil - Rift Valley, Kenya
2, 3) Dick Daniels - Tazania 4)
Dick - San Diego Zoo 5)
Bernard_Dupont - South Africa
2) Identified by Charlie Westerinen




Genus Grafisia - 1 species
Starling,_White-collared Grafisia torquata Found: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Gabon
Image by: 1)
Lars_Petersson 2)
Ron_Knight - Uganda 3)
Artur_Bujanowicz - Cameroon
1) Female 2, 3) Male


Genus Hartlaubius - 1 species
Starling,_Madagascar Hartlaubius auratus Found: Madagascar
Image by:
1) Pat and Keith Taylor 2)
Lee Hunter 3)
Jack Haskell


Genus Hylopsar
Starling,_Copper-tailed Hylopsar cupreocauda Found: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone
Image by: 1)
Nik_Borrow - Ghana
Starling,_Purple-headed Hylopsar purpureiceps Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
William_Rutledge
Genus Lamprotornis
Lamprotornis is a large genus of
glossy-starlings all of which occur in Africa south of the Sahara. They have glossy blue or green upperparts, which is due to hollow melanin granules arranged in a single layer near the feather barbule’s surface. The underparts of these species lacks iridescence and may be blue, purple, yellow or brown. Most Lamprotornis starlings have striking yellow or red irides and some have long tails. They are found in a variety of habitats from forests to open woodland and gardens. They nest in tree holes. Most species are gregarious outside the breeding season.
Starling,_African_Pied Lamprotornis bicolor Found: South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland
Image by:
1, 2) Derek_Keats - South Africa
3, 4, 5) Brian_Ralphs 6, 7) Dick Daniels - Oudtshoorn,
South Africa





Starling,_Ashy Lamprotornis unicolor Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Yoky - Tanzania 2)
Dick
Daniels - Tanzania 3)
Yathin Krishnappa


Starling,_Bronze-tailed Lamprotornis chalcurus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Torwall 2)
Ron Knight - Cameroon

Starling,_Burchell's Glossy- Lamprotornis australis Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Werner Witte - South Africa 2)
Jerry Oldenettel - Namibia 3)
Bernard_Dupont - South Africa 4)
Brendan_Ryan - South Africa



Starling,_Cape also
Brahminy Myna also
Red-shouldered Glossy-starling Lamprotornis nitens Found: southern Africa
Image by:
1, 2) Arno Meintjes - South Africa 3)
Dick Daniels near Kruger National Park, South Africa
4, 5, 6) Dick - Johannesburg, South Africa 7)
Cristiano Crolle - Etosha Nat.Park, Namibia





Starling,_Chestnut-bellied Lamprotornis pulcher Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Frans_Vandewalle - Gambia 2)
Nik_Borrow - Senegal 3)
ChriKo


Starling,_Copper-tailed Glossy- Lamprotornis cupreocauda Found: Africa
Image by:
Emily Damstra
Starling,_Fischer's Lamprotornis fischeri Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Peter Steward - Kenya 2)
Franceso Veronesi - Kenya 3)
Donald Macauley - Kenya


Starling,_Golden-breasted Lamprotornis regius Found: Africa
Image by:
1, 2) Dick Daniels -
Birds of Eden, South
Africa 3)
Dick - San Diego Zoo
4, 5) Dick -
National Aviary 6)
Sandy Cole -
National Aviary 7, 8) Dick - Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle







Starling,_Greater Blue-eared Lamprotornis chalybaeus Found:
Africa
Image by: 1)
Carol Foil - Kenya
2, 3)
Dick Daniels - South Africa
4, ) Dick - Kenya 6)
Shankar S - Kenya 7)
Joseph Mochoge - Gilgil, Kenya






Starling,_Hilderbrandt's Lamprotornis hildebrandti Found: Kenya and Tanzania
Image by:
1, 2) Dick Daniels - Tanzania
4, 5, 6, 7, 8) Dick - Kenya 3)
Nik_Borrow - Tanzania







Starling,_Iris Glossy- also
Emerald Starling Lamprotornis iris Found: west Africa
Image by:
1, 2) Dick Daniels -
North Carolina Zoo 3)
Sandy Cole -North
Carolina Zoo 4)
Dick - San Diego Zoo



Starling,_Lesser_Blue-eared Lamprotornis chloropterus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Torwall 2)
Sumeet_Moghe - Ghana 3)
Sue Robinson 4)
Frans_Vandewalle - Gambia



Starling,_Long-tailed Glossy- Lamprotornis caudatus Found: tropical Africa
Image by:
1, 2) Thomas Hashlam - Senegal 3)
JV Verde - Gambia


Starling,_Meves's Glossy- also Meve's Starling Fregilupus varius Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Derek Keats - South Africa 2)
Nanosanchez -Botswana 3)
Bernard_Dupont - South Africa


Starling,_Principe_Glossy- Lamprotornis ornatus Found: São Tomé and Príncipe (off west coast central Africa)
Image by: 1)
Le Vaillant 2)
Nik_Borrow

Starling,_Purple Lamprotornis purpureus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Dick Daniels -
Birds of Eden, South Africa 2)
Gerard van Drunen 3)
Allan_Hopkins
3) With Brown Babbler


Starling,_Purple-headed Glossy- Lamprotornis purpureiceps Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Swaysland and Wiener 2)
Thejana de Zoysa 3)
okirakubirder


Starling,_Ruppell's Longtail also
Ruppell's Glossy-Starling Lamprotornis purpuroptera Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Yoky - Tanzania
2, 3, 4) Dick Daniels - Tanzania



Starling,_Sharp-tailed Lamprotornis acuticaudus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Torwall 2)
Maans_Booysen - Angola

Starling,_Shelley's Lamprotornis shelleyi Found: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania.
Image by: 1)
Torwall 2)
Lip_Kee - Ethiopia

Starling,_Splendid Glossy- Lamprotornis splendidus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Paul
Starling,_Superb Lamprotornis superbus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Dick Daniels -
Birds of Eden, South Africa
2) Dick - Tanzania
3, 4) Dick - San Diego Zoo 5)
Dick -Kenya 6)
Becky_Matsubara - Tanzania





Starling,_White-crowned Lamprotornis albicapillus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Kris Maes - Ethiopia
Genus Neocichla - 1 species
Starling,_Babbling Neocichla gutturalis Found: Angola, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia
Image by: 1)
Jason_Anderson 2)
Naturalis_Biodiversity_Center 3)
Nik Borrow
1) Juvenile


Genus Notopholia - 1 species
Starling,_Black-bellied Notopholia corrusca Found: Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
Image by: 1)
Francesco_Veronesi 2)
William_Dicks - South Africa 3)
Sandy Cole -
Birds of Eden 4)
Arthur Chapman - Birds of Eden



Genus Onychognathus
These are African starlings. They are quite similar, and characterised by rufous primary wing feathers, very obvious in flight. The males are typically mainly glossy black, and the females dull dark grey.
Starling,_Bristle-crowned Onychognathus salvadorii Found: Africa
Image by:
1, 2) Carol Foil - Kenya 3)
Charles_J_Sharp 4)
Steve_Garvie - Kenya



Starling,_Chestnut-winged Onychognathus fulgidus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Arthur Grosset 2)
Aaron Maizlish - Ghana
1) Female 2) Male

Starling,_Newmann's Onychognathus neumanni Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Maria_Hagglund 2)
Lionel_Sineux
1) Female 2) Male

Starling,_Pale-winged Onychognathus nabouroup Found:
Africa
Image by: 1)
Hans Hillewaert - Namibia 2)
Cristiano Crolle - Namibia 3)
Charles_J_Sharp - Namibia 4)
Alan_Manson - South Africa



Starling,_Red-winged Onychognathus morio Found: Africa
Image by:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 8, 9) Dick Daniels - South Africa 7)
Sandy
Cole - South Africa
1, 2, 3, 4) Female 5 - 9) Male







Starling,_Socotran Onychognathus frater Found: Yemen
Image by: 1)
Rod Waddington 2, 3) cesare_dolzani
1, 2) Female 3) Male


Starling,_Slender-billed Onychognathus tenuirostris Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Leonard_Floyd - Ethiopia
Starling,_Somali
Onychognathus blythii Found: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen
Image by: 1)
Henrik Gronvold 2, 3) Cesare Dolzani
1) Pair 2) Female 3) Male


Starling,_Tristram's Onychognathus tristramii Found: northern Africa
Image by: 1) Shanthanu Bhardwaj - Israel 2)
Sergey Yeliseev - Egypt 3)
Oraaaass - Masada 4)
Bert_Kaufmann - Israel
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male



Starling,_Waller's Onychognathus walleri Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
John Gerrard Keulemans 2, 3, 4) Dick Daniels - Keekorok Lodge in the Masai Mara, Kenya
2 - 4) Three photos of the same bird.



Starling,_White-billed Onychognathus albirostris Found: Eritrea, Ethiopia
Image by: 1)
Stephen Davis
Genus Poeoptera
Starling,_Abbott's Poeoptera femoralis Found: Kenya, Tanzania
Image by:
mpgoodey - Tanzania
1) Male
Starling,_Kenrick's Poeoptera kenricki Found: Kenya, Tanzania
Image by: 1)
Geoff_Anabel_Harries - Tanzania 2)
Allan_Hopkins - Tanzania
1) Female 2) Male

Starling,_Narrow-tailed Poeoptera lugubris Found: west and central Africa
Image by: 1)
John Gerrard Keulemans 2)
David Cook - Uganda 3)
Peter Wang
1, 2, 3) Male


Starling,_Stuhlmann's Poeoptera stuhlmanni Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Dick Daniels - Keekorok Lodge in the Masai Mara, Kenya
Genus Speculipastor - 1 species
Starling,_Magpie Speculipastor bicolor Found: eastern Africa
Image by: 1)
Fred_Hodgson - Kenya
OXPECKERs
The ocpeckers were previously considered part of the starling family.
Genus Buphagus
Oxpecker, Red-billed Buphagus erythrorhynchus Found: Africa
Image by:
1, 7) Joseph Mochoge - Eburu Kenya
2, 5, 6) Dick Daniels - Kenya 3)
Dick - Hluhluwe- South Africa
1) Impala hair visible in upper left of image - used by bird to cushion fragile eggs
2)
Thumbnail shows juvenile; main photo has adult and juvenile.






Oxpecker, Yellow-billed Buphagus africanus Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Arno Meintjes 2)
Dick Daniels - Tanzania 3) Dick - Keekorok Lodge in the Masai Mara, Kenya
