Violet-backed starling
Violet-backed starling | |
---|---|
male above, female below | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Sturnidae |
Genus: | Cinnyricinclus Lesson, 1840 |
Species: | C. leucogaster |
Binomial name | |
Cinnyricinclus leucogaster (Boddaert, 1783) | |
The violet-backed starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster), also known as the plum-coloured starling or amethyst starling, is a relatively small species of starling in the family Sturnidae. This strongly sexually dimorphic species is found widely in the woodlands and savannah forest edges of mainland sub-Saharan Africa. It is rarely seen on the ground, but instead commonly found in trees and other sources away from the ground.
Breeding
C. leucogaster is a sexually dimorphic species in which the males possess an iridescent violet back whilst the females are brown. During breeding, the female will incubate 2-4 eggs (these are pale blue with reddish/brown spots) for 12–14 days. The male will help feed chicks until they fledge after about 21 days.
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Cinnyricinclus leucogaster". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cinnyricinclus leucogaster. |
- (Plum-coloured starling =) Violet-backed starling - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.