The emerald starling (''Lamprotornis iris'') is also known as the iris glossy starling. It is a small

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

with a metallic green crown, upper body, wings and tail. The ear-coverts and underparts are metallic purple. Both sexes are similar. Most taxonomists unite it with many other glossy starlings in '' Lamprotornis'', while others place it in a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Coccycolius''. One of the smallest

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

among starlings, the emerald starling is distributed in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. It inhabits lowlands and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

of Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. The emerald starling feeds on ficus, figs, Haronga berries and other fruit, seeds,

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s and other small

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s. The cup-shaped nest is built in a tree cavity. The male and female cooperate in building the nest from leaves, and both bring food to chicks after they hatch. Females possess a brood patch—a spot on their stomach lacking feathers—that helps them transfer body heat to their eggs."Emerald Starling Fact Sheet, Lincoln Park Zoo"
/ref> It was formerly classified as data deficient by the IUCN, as available data was insufficient for judging its conservation status. Studies found that it was relatively widespread and locally common, and in 2015 its IUCN rating was changed to

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

. The emerald starling is caught for the wildlife trade and is locally threatened by mining activities, but overall this is unlikely to cause a major decline in the species.

Gallery

Stavenn Coccycolius iris 00.jpg Iris Glossy Starling - side.jpg Iris Glossy Starling - side color.jpg

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is data deficient *BirdLife International (2007): Species factsheet
''Coccycolius iris''
Retrieved 2007-JUL-20. emerald starling emerald starling Birds of West Africa emerald starling {{Sturnidae-stub