The golden-breasted starling (''Lamprotornis regius''), also known as royal starling, is a medium-sized

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

in the

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, ...

family.

Subspecies

*''Lamprotornis regius magnificus'' van Someren, 1924 *''Lamprotornis regius regius'' (Reichenow, 1879)

Distribution and habitat

The golden-breasted starling has a very large range. It is distributed in

Northeastern Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004) ...

, from

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and northern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. These birds inhabit the

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

savannah 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 (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, the thickets of acacias, dry-thorn forests and

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

Status and conservation

Widespread throughout its habitat range, the population trend of the golden-breasted starling appears to be stable. The species is evaluated as being of

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 ...

on the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

Description

''Lamprotornis regius'' can reach a body length of about . The adult has a metallic green head and upper back, bright golden yellow breast and belly, dark

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

and legs, white

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

and metallic violet blue on wings, back, neck and its long tail feathers. Both sexes are similar. The young are duller than the adult.

Behaviour

The golden-breasted starling is a social animal, living in groups of three to twelve individuals. Adults can be found from January to June and from August to November, with a peak in January.INaturalist
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Breeding

The golden-breasted starling molts once a year, after the breeding season. These birds are monogamous. The female usually lays between three and five pale green eggs with red speckles. It nests in tree holes, usually in tree holes that woodpeckers have left. The nest is made from leaves, roots and other vegetation. Entire family groups cooperate in raising young by gathering food and nesting materials.

Feeding

In contrast to other brilliant starlings, which feed mainly on fruits, their diet consists mainly of

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 pairs ...

s and

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

s. Adult birds catch insects in flight and dig up termite mounds to find prey."Golden-Breasted Starling Fact Sheet, Lincoln Park Zoo"
/ref> Snails, spiders, crustaceans, or small vertebrates, such as lizards, sometimes integrates the diet.

Bibliography

*Bryan Richard: Vögel. Parragon, Bath, *Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Vögel. Dorling Kindersly Limited, London 1993, 2000, *del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK. *Dowsett, R. J.; Forbes-Watson, A. D. 1993. Checklist of birds of the Afrotropical and Malagasy regions. Tauraco Press, Li *Gill F. and Donsker D. (eds), Family Sturnidae, in IOC World Bird Names (ver 8.2), International Ornithologists’ Union, 2018 *Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

References

External links

BirdLife International

Videos, photos and sounds - IBC The International Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27075606

golden-breasted starling The golden-breasted starling (''Lamprotornis regius''), also known as royal starling, is a medium-sized passerine in the starling family. Subspecies *''Lamprotornis regius magnificus'' van Someren, 1924 *''Lamprotornis regius regius'' (Reichen ...

Birds of East Africa

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