Hildebrandt's Starling
Hildebrandt - Starling
The Hildebrandt starling ( Lamprotornis hildebrandti ) is a bird of the family of starlings. Its name honors the German naturalist Johann Maria Hildebrandt.
Features
Breast feathers, throat, head, back, upper wing surface and tail of the adult Hildebrandt shine Stars are colored in a dark, shiny metallic blue. The belly is rust-colored, as well as the underside of the wings. Remarkable are the red eyes. The beak and legs are gray. The bird reached a size of about 19 cm and a body mass of 57 g is very similar to the closely related Shelly- starling.
The plumage of the juveniles is of a paler color and a matte, also lacks the blue color of the chest and throat. The eyes are dark brown.
Distribution and habitat
The Hildebrandt starling is endemic in East Africa, he. Inhabited areas in the northeast Tanzania to Central Kenya As Habitat open woodlands and scrub be used at altitudes 500-2200 m.
Life and voice
Usually the bird is found in pairs or small flocks, which may be mixed with three-color glossy starlings. Consisting of insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, as well as fruits and seeds food is primarily searched on the ground. Hildebrandt other birds nest in tree hollows, they pad with hair and plant fibers. Place three to four, on average 25 mm long and 18 mm wide eggs. The song consists of series of short, tieftöniger, very melodic sounding sequences, which often end with rising tones. The call during the flight is a hoarse " kurrrakurrrakurrra ".