Wattled Starling ( Creatophora cinerea, family: Sturnidae)
The Wattled Starling (Latin name Creatophora cinerea) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 760 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 970 also a picture of the Wattled Starling on page 976. The
Wattled Starling belongs to the family of birds classified as Sturnidae.
Click the image to see an interesting picture of a large flock of
Wattled starlings seen close to Mopani camp on Tropic of Capricorn Loop.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Wattled Starling was called the
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Wattled Starling is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident
In terms of distribution of the Wattled Starling in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Wattled Starling : see above distribution map.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
The Wattled Starling is a smallish bird but somewhat larger than a house sparrow. The height of the Wattled Starling is about 22 cms and its weight is about 70 gms
You will find that the male Wattled Starling plumage and colours are different to that of the female Wattled Starling
- Head is black.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is grey.
- Throat is yellow.
- Back is yellow.
- Legs are yellow.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Wattled Starling feeds on the ground mainly
Invertebrates
Fruits
Seeds
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Wattled Starling is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Creatophora cinerea will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Wattled Starling is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are yellow in colour and number between 2 to 4
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Wattled Starling are: woodlands and grasslands . The Wattled Starling is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.
You will normally see the Wattled Starling in flocks.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unowambu/Uwambu
Zulu ... iMpofazana
Afrikaans ...Lelspreeu
German ... Lappenstar
Portuguese ... Estorninho-carunculado
French ... tourneau caroncul
Dutch ... Lelspreeuw
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 760
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
