''Poeoptera'' is a

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 ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

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. It contains three

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 ...

, all live in forest habitats 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 ...

. These starlings

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

in tree cavities, such as old

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. ...

or barbet holes. One species, the narrow-tailed starling, nests in

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

. All are birds of the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

, and their diet is mostly or entirely fruit. Males have a glossier appearance than females.

Species

Kenrick's starling Kenrick's starling (''Poeoptera kenricki'') 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 count ...

(''Poeoptera kenricki'') * Narrow-tailed starling (''Poeoptera lugubris'') * Stuhlmann's starling (''Poeoptera stuhlmanni'') *

Abbott's starling Abbott's starling (''Poeoptera femoralis'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss, and its popu ...

(''Poeoptera femoralis'') *

Sharpe's starling Sharpe's starling (''Pholia sharpii'') is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. It is monotypic in the genus ''Pho ...

(''Poeoptera sharpii'')

References

* Bird genera Sturnidae Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Sturnidae-stub