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ShrublandCavity nestMedium · 67 g
ID tip
This is one of the rufous-bellied starlings, and the only one in most of its range. The pale eye differentiates it from Hildebrandt's and Shelley's starlings, while the absence of a white breast band separates it from the Splendid Starling. Predominantly glossy dark-green to blue, with a distinct dark (and not glossy) head and breast.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
When to see the Chestnut-bellied Starling
One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is December, the month with the most records.
Where to see the Chestnut-bellied Starling
The map shades 15 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.
Recorded as a rare visitor in Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire.
About the Chestnut-bellied Starling
The chestnut-bellied starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. This is a common resident in arid Sahelian acacia savanna, namely in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, and Togo.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Lesser Blue-eared StarlingLamprotornis chloropterusThe lesser blue-eared starling or lesser blue-eared glossy-starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae.
Ashy StarlingLamprotornis unicolorThe ashy starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae.
Fischer's StarlingLamprotornis fischeriThe adult of this 18 cm (7.1 in) long, 51 g (1.8 oz) starling has mainly dully ash-grey plumage except for a white lower chest, belly and undertail.
Side by side: Chestnut-bellied Starling vs Purple Starling
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