Greater Blue-eared Starling ( Lamprotornis chalybaeus, family: Sturnidae)

Greater Blue Eared Starling Kruger ParkThe Greater Blue-eared Starling (Latin name Lamprotornis chalybaeus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 765 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 964 also a picture of the Greater Blue-eared Starling on page 976. The Greater Blue-eared Starling belongs to the family of birds classified as Sturnidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Greater Blue-eared Starling is also known by these other names: Blue-eared Glossy Starling, Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling, Green Glossy Starling, Green-winged Glossy Starling.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Greater Blue-eared 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

greate rblue eared starling kruger national park birds The Greater Blue-eared Starling is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Greater Blue-eared Starling in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Greater Blue-eared Starling : see above distribution map.

The Greater Blue-eared Starling.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

The Greater Blue-eared Starling is a smallish bird but somewhat larger than a house sparrow. The height of the Greater Blue-eared Starling is about 22 cms and its weight is about 90 gms

The male and female Greater Blue-eared Starling have the same plumage and colours

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Greater Blue-eared Starling feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Greater Blue-eared Starling is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Lamprotornis chalybaeus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Greater Blue-eared Starling is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are purple in colour and number between 2 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Greater Blue-eared Starling are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas. The Greater Blue-eared Starling is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You will normally see the Greater Blue-eared Starling by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Groot-blouoorglansspreeu

German ... Grnschwanz-Glanzstar

Portuguese ... Estorninho-grande-d'orelha-azul

French ... Choucador oreillons bleus

Dutch ... Groenstaart-Glansspreeuw

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 765

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