''Lamprotornis'' is a large genus of glossy-

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, ...

s all of which occur in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

south of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. They have glossy blue or green upper parts, which is due to hollow

melanin Melanin (; from el, μέλας, melas, black, dark) is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Eumelanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the amino ...

granules arranged in a single layer near the feather barbule's surface. This unique arrangement led to some glossy starlings formerly placed in the genus ''

Spreo ''Spreo'' is an alternative genus of 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'' ...

'' being transferred to ''Lamprotornis'', since they shared this feature (but see also below). The genus ''Lamprotornis'' was introduce by the Dutch zoologist

Coenraad Jacob Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch people, Dutch Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, Zoology, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dut ...

in 1820. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

was subsequently designated as the long-tailed glossy starling. The under parts of these species lack iridescence. They may be blue, purple, yellow or brown. Most ''Lamprotornis'' starlings have striking yellow or red irides and some have long tails. These glossy starlings are found in a variety of habitats from forests to open woodland and gardens. They nest in tree holes, either natural, or made by

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

s or

barbets Barbet may refer to: * Barbet (dog), a dog breed * Various birds in the infraorder Ramphastides ** African barbet, part of the bird family Lybiidae ** New World barbet, the bird family Capitonidae ** Asian barbet The Asian barbets are a family ...

, and some will use man-made structures. Most species are resident apart from seasonal or local movement, but Shelley's starling is migratory. Most species are gregarious outside the breeding season. ''Lamprotornis'' glossy-starlings are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

and mostly feed on the ground, although they will take fruit from trees. Some will feed on or near large mammals to find insects.

Species

The genus contains 23 species. * Cape starling, ''Lamprotornis nitens'' * Greater blue-eared starling, ''Lamprotornis chalybaeus'' * Lesser blue-eared starling, ''Lamprotornis chloropterus'' *

Miombo blue-eared starling The Miombo blue-eared starling (''Lamprotornis elisabeth''), also known as the southern blue-eared glossy-starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, M ...

, ''Lamprotornis elisabeth'' * Bronze-tailed starling, ''Lamprotornis chalcurus'' *

Splendid starling The splendid starling (''Lamprotornis splendidus''), also known as the splendid glossy-starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. Range It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, ...

, ''Lamprotornis splendidus'' * Principe starling, ''Lamprotornis ornatus'' *

Emerald starling The emerald starling (''Lamprotornis iris'') is also known as the iris glossy starling. It is a small starling with a metallic green crown, upper body, wings and tail. The ear-coverts and underparts are metallic purple. Both sexes are similar. Mo ...

, ''Lamprotornis iris'' * Purple starling, ''Lamprotornis purpureus'' *

Rüppell's starling Rüppell's starling (''Lamprotornis purpuroptera''), also known as Rueppell's glossy-starling or Rueppell's long-tailed starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Erit ...

, ''Lamprotornis purpuroptera'' * Long-tailed glossy starling, ''Lamprotornis caudatus'' *

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 ...

, ''Lamprotornis regius'' * Meves's starling, ''Lamprotornis mevesii'' * Burchell's starling, ''Lamprotornis australis'' * Sharp-tailed starling, ''Lamprotornis acuticaudus'' * Superb starling, ''Lamprotornis superbus'' *

Hildebrandt's starling Hildebrandt's starling (''Lamprotornis hildebrandti'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It forms a superspecies with and has previously been included in the same species as Shelley's starling, a migratory species ranging from Eth ...

, ''Lamprotornis hildebrandti'' * Shelley's starling, ''Lamprotornis shelleyi'' * Chestnut-bellied starling, ''Lamprotornis pulcher'' *

Ashy starling The ashy starling (''Lamprotornis unicolor'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a cou ...

, ''Lamprotornis unicolor'' *

Fischer's starling Fischer's starling (''Lamprotornis fischeri'') is a bird which is an uncommon resident breeder from southern Ethiopia and Somalia to eastern Kenya and Tanzania. It is found in dry open acacia thornbush. The English and scientific names commemor ...

, ''Lamprotornis fischeri'' *

Pied starling The pied starling or African pied starling (''Lamprotornis bicolor'') is a bird endemic to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini. It is common in most of its range, but largely absent from the arid northwest and the eastern lowlands of South Afric ...

, ''Lamprotornis bicolor'' * White-crowned starling, ''Lamprotornis albicapillus'' The limits of this genus require revision. For example, the black-bellied starling is sometimes placed in a separate genus ''Notopholia'', and it (and possibly others) appears to be indeed well distinct. On the other hand, genera such as '' Coccycolius'', ''

'' and '' Compsarus'' are sometimes included in ''Lamprotornis''.(Zuccon ''et al.'' 2006)

References

*Feare, Chris & Craig, Adrian (1999): ''Starlings and Mynas''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-7136-3961-X *Zuccon, Dario; Cibois, Anne; Pasquet, Eric & Ericson, Per G.P. (2006): Nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data reveal the major lineages of starlings, mynas and related taxa. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 41(2): 333–344. (HTML abstract)

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q514379 Bird genera Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck