The magpie starling (Speculipastor bicolor) is a member of the starling family from eastern Africa.

Magpie starling
At Shaba, Kenya
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae
Genus: Speculipastor
Reichenow, 1879
Species:
S. bicolor
Binomial name
Speculipastor bicolor
Reichenow, 1879

Description

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The magpie starling is about 16–19 cm (6.5–7.5 in) in length. The white patches at base of primaries are obvious in flight. The male is a shiny blue-black on upperparts, head and upper breast, with mostly white below and bloodred eyes. The female is a dull blackish above with dark grey crown, and a dark grey throat is separated from white belly by a glossy black breast band. Her eyes are red or orange-red. The Juvenile is brown with a white belly; eyes brown, becoming orange-red in as the bird matures. Exceptional young birds are entirely white below, including chin and throat.

The call is a prolonged soft babbling quereeeh quaaa kereek quak-quak, suaaaa, cherak-chik-chak...mixed higher harsh notes.

Distribution and habitat

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It is a gregarious nomadic pied starling of dry brush and thorn-scrub in northern and eastern Kenya. It is also found in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2016). "Speculipastor bicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22710795A94261281. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22710795A94261281.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  • Dale A. Zimmerman, Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania, Princeton University Press, 1999
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