The Superb Starling of Kenya

The Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus) has a black head, iridescent bluish-green feathers on its back, chest, wings and tail, and an orange coloured stomach. There is a white bar between the stomach and the chest. Its eyes are white.

Young starlings are not as colourful, although adult males and females look similar.

The Superb Starling grows to 18 centimetres (7 inches) tall.

They are quite common, found in gardens, near lakes, and in open scrublands. It lives in southeastern Sudan, northeastern Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Females lay about four dark blue eggs, and incubates them for 12-14 days.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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