Magpie starling
The magpie starling (Speculipastor bicolor) is a member of the starling family from eastern Africa.
| Magpie starling | |
|---|---|
 | |
| At Shaba, Kenya | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Sturnidae |
| Genus: | Speculipastor Reichenow, 1879 |
| Species: | S. bicolor |
| Binomial name | |
| Speculipastor bicolor Reichenow, 1879 | |
Description
The magpie starling is about 16–19 cm (6.5–7.5 in) in length. The white patches at base of primaries are obvious in flight. The male is a shiny blue-black on upperparts, head and upper breast, with mostly white below and bloodred eyes. The female is a dull blackish above with dark grey crown, and a dark grey throat is separated from white belly by a glossy black breast band. Her eyes are red or orange-red. The Juvenile is brown with a white belly; eyes brown, becoming orange-red in as the bird matures. Exceptional young birds are entirely white below, including chin and throat.
The call is a prolonged soft babbling quereeeh quaaa kereek quak-quak, suaaaa, cherak-chik-chak...mixed higher harsh notes.
Distribution and habitat
It is a gregarious nomadic pied starling of dry brush and thorn-scrub in northern and eastern Kenya. It is also found in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.[1]
References
- BirdLife International (2016). "Speculipastor bicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22710795A94261281. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22710795A94261281.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- Dale A. Zimmerman, Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania, Princeton University Press, 1999
