Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subsectio: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Infraclassis: Aves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Muscicapoidea
Familia: Sturnidae
Genus: Lamprotornis
Species: L. acuticaudus – L. albicapillus – L. australis – L. bicolor – L. caudatus –L. chalcurus –L. chalybaeus – L. chloropterus – L. elisabeth – L. fischeri – L. hildebrandti – L. iris – L. mevesii – L. nitens – L. ornatus – L. pulcher – L. purpureus – L. purpuroptera – L. regius – L. shelleyi – L. splendidus – L. superbus – L. unicolor
Name
Lamprotornis Temminck, 1820
Typus
Lamprotornis caudatus (Statius Müller, 1776)
Synonyms
Coccycolius Oustalet, 1879
Cosmopsarus Reichenow, 1879
Spreo Lesson, 1831
References
Manuel d'ornithologie ed.2 1: 55 [LV].
Vernacular names
Deutsch: Eigentliche Glanzstare
English: Glossy starlings
suomi: Loistokottaraiset
lietuvių: Žvilgantieji varnėnai
Lamprotornis is a large genus of glossy-starlings all of which occur in Africa south of the Sahara. They have glossy blue or green upper parts, which is due to hollow melanin 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 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 in 1820.[1] The type species was subsequently designated as the long-tailed glossy starling.[2]
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 woodpeckers or barbets, 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 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.[3]
Cape starling, Lamprotornis nitens
Greater blue-eared starling, Lamprotornis chalybaeus
Lesser blue-eared starling, Lamprotornis chloropterus
Miombo blue-eared starling, Lamprotornis elisabeth
Bronze-tailed starling, Lamprotornis chalcurus
Splendid starling, Lamprotornis splendidus
Principe starling, Lamprotornis ornatus
Emerald starling, Lamprotornis iris
Purple starling, Lamprotornis purpureus
Rüppell's starling, Lamprotornis purpuroptera
Long-tailed glossy starling, Lamprotornis caudatus
Golden-breasted starling, Lamprotornis regius
Meves's starling, Lamprotornis mevesii
Burchell's starling, Lamprotornis australis
Sharp-tailed starling, Lamprotornis acuticaudus
Superb starling, Lamprotornis superbus
Hildebrandt's starling, Lamprotornis hildebrandti
Shelley's starling, Lamprotornis shelleyi
Chestnut-bellied starling, Lamprotornis pulcher
Ashy starling, Lamprotornis unicolor
Fischer's starling, Lamprotornis fischeri
Pied starling, 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, Spreo and Compsarus are sometimes included in Lamprotornis.(Zuccon et al. 2006)
References
Temminck, Coenraad Jacob (1820). Manuel d'ornithologie, ou, Tableau systématique des oiseaux qui se trouvent en Europe (in French). Part 1 (2nd ed.). Paris: H. Cousin. p. 55 (LV).
Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 377. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Nuthatches, Wallcreeper, treecreepers, mockingbirds, starlings, oxpeckers". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
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. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.007 PMID 16806992 (HTML abstract)
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