Burchell's Starling ( Lamprotornis australis, family: Sturnidae)

burchells starling kruger national park birds The Burchell's Starling (Latin name Lamprotornis australis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 762 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 966 also a picture of the Burchell's Starling on page 976. The Burchell's Starling belongs to the family of birds classified as Sturnidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Burchell's Starling is also known by these other names: Burchell's Glossy Starling, Greater Glossy Starling.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Burchell's 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

Near endemic species is one that is confined to a specific geographical region rather than a single country for example. Certain birds in The Kruger National Park are near endemic to Mozambique, and Zimbabwe for example. One such example is the Burchell's Starling and this species depends upon a certain type of habitat for survival. Destroy that habitat and the bird becomes endangered.

In terms of distribution of the Burchell's Starling in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Burchell's Starling : see above distribution map.

Kruger Park Burchell's StarlingIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Burchell's Starling is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Burchell's Starling is about 30 cms and its weight is about 105 gms

The male and female Burchell's Starling have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is blue, green.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is blue.
  • Back is blue.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Burchell's Starling feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Burchell's Starling is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Lamprotornis australis will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Burchell's Starling is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are blue in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Burchell's Starling are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas. The Burchell's Starling is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You can see Burchell's Starling in flocks. The bird will often also be seen singly.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Grootglansspreeu

German ... Riesenglanzstar, Glanzelstar

Portuguese ... Estorninho de Burchell

French ... Choucador de Burchell

Dutch ... Grote Glansspreeuw

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 762

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