Narrow-tailed starling
| Narrow-tailed starling | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Sturnidae |
| Genus: | Poeoptera |
| Species: | P. lugubris
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| Binomial name | |
| Poeoptera lugubris Bonaparte, 1854
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The narrow-tailed starling (Poeoptera lugubris) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in West and Central Africa from Sierra Leone to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1]
Description
[edit]The male is dark blue and the female is dark gray with chestnut-colored patches on the wings, visible in flight. Both sexes have long, narrow tails. Not a very noisy bird, this starling's vocalizations include shrill chirps, cries, and whistles.
Habitat
[edit]Its habitat is the canopy of lowland forest, making use of secondary forest and forest clearings.
Diet
[edit]It eats mostly fruit, and sometimes insects or seeds.
Behaviour
[edit]These starlings form flocks of 10-30 or more birds, and sometimes will mix with other fruit-eating birds. This bird is a colony-nester, making its nest high up in dead trees in holes originally excavated by colonial cavity-nesting barbets, sometimes with both birds nesting in close proximity. Eggs are pale blue-gray with brown spots.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b BirdLife International (2018). "Poeoptera lugubris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22710587A132088802. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22710587A132088802.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ^ Feare, Chris; Craig, Adrian (1998). Starlings and Mynas. Christopher Helm. pp. 106, 245–246. ISBN 0-7136-3961-X.
External links
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