Greater Blue-eared Starling
A species of Glossy Starlings and Allies Scientific name : Lamprotornis chalybaeus Genus : Glossy Starlings and Allies
Greater Blue-eared Starling, A species of Glossy Starlings and Allies
Botanical name: Lamprotornis chalybaeus
Genus: Glossy Starlings and Allies
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Lip Kee , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original 
Description
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. 
Size
24 cm
Colors
Black
Green
Blue
Purple
Life Expectancy
2-3 years
Feeding Habits
Greater Blue-eared Starling is omnivorous, primarily feeding on insects and supplementing its diet with seeds and berries like figs. It forages on the ground and perches on livestock to consume insects and occasionally ectoparasites.
Habitat
The greater Blue-eared Starling is typically found in diverse habitats across sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from arid savannas and desert zones to regions with higher rainfall. Their preferred environments include dry woodland savannas, richer woodlands, cultivated areas, and gardens. The greater Blue-eared Starling thrives in altitudes mainly above 500 meters, extending up to 2000 meters on the Ethiopian plateau and also inhabiting coastal areas in Kenya. These birds are highly social, roosting in large flocks in reedbeds, thorn bushes, or acacias, and they often associate with other starling species.
Dite type
Omnivorous
General Info
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Starlings Species
Greater Blue-eared Starling 
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