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.

A male violet-backed starling

References

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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.