Lamprotornis chalybaeus
Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
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: Eusaurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Muscicapoidea
Familia: Sturnidae
Genus: Lamprotornis
Species: Lamprotornis chalybaeus
Subspecies: L. c. chalybaeus – L. c. cyaniventris – L. c. nordmanni – L. c. scyobius
Name
Lamprotornis chalybaeus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828
References
Symbolae Physicae (1828) sig.y(1833) pl.10(1828)
Vernacular names
Deutsch: Grünschwanz-Glanzstar
English: Greater Blue-eared Glossy-Starling
español: Estornino orejiazul
The greater blue-eared starling or greater blue-eared glossy-starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus) is a bird that breeds from Senegal east to Ethiopia and south through eastern Africa to northeastern South Africa and Angola. It is a very common species of open woodland bird, and undertakes some seasonal migration.
Subspecies
There are four accepted subspecies:[3][4]
Lamprotornis chalybaeus chalybaeus — Sahel region
Lamprotornis chalybaeus cyaniventris — northeastern Africa
Lamprotornis chalybaeus nordmanni — southern Africa
Lamprotornis chalybaeus scyobius — central and East Africa
Description
Adult in South Africa
The greater blue-eared starling is a 22 cm long, short tailed bird. This starling is glossy blue-green with a purple-blue belly and blue ear patch. Its iris is bright yellow or orange. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is duller and has blackish brown underparts.
The populations from southern Kenya southwards are smaller than northern birds and are sometimes considered to be a separate subspecies, L. c. sycobius.
The lesser blue-eared starling is similar to this species, but the blue of the belly does not extend forward of the legs.
The greater blue-eared starling has a range of musical or grating calls, but the most familiar is a nasal squee-ar.
Behaviour
Breeding
The upperpart plumage
The greater blue-eared starling nests in holes in trees, either natural or excavated by woodpeckers or barbets. It will also nest inside the large stick nests of the sacred ibis or Abdim's stork. A nest will include three to five eggs, which are usually greenish-blue with brown or purple spots, and hatch in 13–14 days. The chicks leave the nest roughly 23 days after hatching.
This species is parasitised by the great spotted cuckoo and occasionally by the greater honeyguide.
Roosting
The greater blue-eared starling is highly gregarious and will form large flocks, often with other starlings. Its roosts, in reedbed, thorn bushes, or acacia, may also be shared.
Feeding
Like other starlings, the greater blue-eared starling is an omnivore, taking a wide range of invertebrates seeds and berries, especially figs, but is diet is mainly insects taken from the ground.
It will perch on livestock, feeding on insects disturbed by the animals and occasionally removing ectoparasites.
References
BirdLife International (2016). "Lamprotornis chalybaeus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22710689A94257029. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22710689A94257029.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
Craig, A.; Feare, C. J. (2020). Greater Blue-eared Starling (Lamprotornis chalybaeus), in Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA.: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.gbesta1.01. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
Myers, P.; Espinosa, R.; Parr, C. S.; Jones, T.; Hammond, G. S.; Dewey, T. A. (2020). "Lamprotornis chalybaeus, Greater blue-eared glossy-starling". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
Lepage, Denis. "Greater Blue-eared Glossy-Starling". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Avibase. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
Feare, Chris; Craig, Adrian (1999). Starlings and Mynas. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-7136-3961-X.
Sinclair, Ian; Hockey, Phil; Tarboton, Warwick (2002). SASOL Birds of Southern Africa. Struik. ISBN 1-86872-721-1.
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