Cape Starling
A species of Glossy Starlings and Allies, Also known as Cape Glossy Starling Scientific name : Lamprotornis nitens Genus : Glossy Starlings and Allies
Cape Starling, A species of Glossy Starlings and Allies
Also known as:
Cape Glossy Starling
Botanical name: Lamprotornis nitens
Genus: Glossy Starlings and Allies
Content
Description General Info
Description
The Cape starling has an adult length of about 25 cm (10 in) and weight of about 100 grams (3.5 oz). The plumage of an adult bird is a fairly uniform bright, glossy colour. The head is blue with darker ear coverts and the upper parts of the body are greenish-blue. It has a lengthy warbling song which may include an imitation of sounds it hears in its environment. 
Size
25 cm
Feeding Habits
Cape Starling is omnivorous, eating fruits, insects, carrion, and nectar. Cape Starling forages in diverse environments and often associates with grazing animals to consume ectoparasites. Cape Starling typically feeds in groups and roosts communally in trees.
Habitat
Cape Starling typically inhabits open woodlands, savannahs, and bushveld regions. This species also thrives in areas with isolated trees, such as rough grasslands and the central Kalahari. Additionally, cape Starling can be found in human-modified landscapes including plantations, parks, and gardens. The bird favors environments with access to trees for roosting and nesting, and is frequently seen along riverine vegetation. While cape Starling avoids dense forests and pastures, it is comfortable at various elevations up to 1800 meters above sea level.
Dite type
Omnivorous
General Info
Behavior
The Cape starling is a gregarious bird and forms large flocks in the non-breeding season. It usually feeds on the ground often foraging alongside other species of starlings such as the pied starling, the common starling, the greater blue-eared starling, the lesser blue-eared starling, the wattled starling and Burchell's starling. It is habituated to humans and its diet includes fruit, insects and nectar. It sometimes feeds on ectoparasites that it picks off the backs of animals and it sometimes visits bird tables for scraps. Breeding mainly takes place between October and February but may continue into April in Namibia. It nests in crevices such as holes in trees and out-competes other birds seeking to use these holes. It is a host to the greater honeyguide, a brood parasite that lays its eggs in other birds' nests. In an observed nest in a thorn tree at the edge of the Kalahari, the chicks were fed predominantly on grasshoppers, locusts, ants and beetles, and were also given fruit, insect larvae and other small invertebrates.
Distribution Area
The Cape starling is found in the southern part of Africa. Its range encompasses the extreme south of Gabon, the west and south of Angola, the extreme south of Zambia, the southern half of Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa. It is a vagrant to the Republic of the Congo but does not breed there. In the other countries in its range it is a resident (non-migratory) species and its total extent of occurrence is about 3,000,000 square kilometres (1,200,000 sq mi). The Cape starling is found where trees in which it can roost and nest are found. It is not a bird of dense forest or of pasture and is not associated with any particular plant type. It does occur in open woodland, plantations, savannah, bushveld, rough grassland, parks and gardens and is quite numerous in the central Kalahari where isolated trees occur.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
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