Pied Starling ( Spreo bicolor, family: Sturnidae)

pied starling kruger national park birds The Pied Starling (Latin name Spreo bicolor) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 759 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 968 also a picture of the Pied Starling on page 976. The Pied Starling belongs to the family of birds classified as Sturnidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Pied Starling is also known by these other names: African Pied Starling.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Pied 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

Endemic species is one that is confined to a specific country or region. For example certain birds endemic to South Africa only exist in that country. One such example is the Pied Starling and this species depends upon a particular habitat for survival. Destroy that habitat and the bird will possibly be lost forever.

In terms of distribution of the Pied Starling in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Pied Starling has been recorded in only 1 sections of the arbitrary Kruger Park regions I selected.

African Pied Starling Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Pied Starling is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Pied Starling is about 25 cms and its weight is about 100 gms

The male and female Pied Starling have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is white.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is black.
  • Back is black.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Pied Starling feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Pied Starling is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Spreo bicolor will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Pied Starling is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

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

You will normally see the Pied Starling by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Igiwu-giwu/Igiyo-giyo

Zulu ... iGwayigwayi/iKhwikhwi/iNgwangwa

Afrikaans ...Witgatspreeu

German ... Zweifarbenstar

Portuguese ... Estorninho-de-ventre-branco

French ... Spro bicolore

Dutch ... Tweekleurige Glansspreeuw

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 759

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