Rag star
| Rag star | ||||||||||||
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Lobe star, non-breeding male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Creatophora | ||||||||||||
| Lesson , 1847 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Creatophora cinerea | ||||||||||||
| ( Meuschen , 1787) |
The Lappenstar ( Creatophora cinerea ) is a kind of the starlings and the only representative of the monotypic genus Lappenstare . He is a nomadic resident in the east and south of the African continent. It appears to have expanded its range to West Africa in recent years and has been observed on the Arabian Peninsula as well as Madagascar and the Seychelles. Its habitat is grassland, light forests and cultivated land.
The lobed starling is the only African star that has a relationship with the Asian starlings, particularly to the genus Sturnus . Its bare parts of the face, which are particularly noticeable during the breeding season, make it unique among the African starlings.
Appearance
The Lappenstar reaches a body length of 19 to 21 centimeters. The tail is short and the wings tapering to a point. The plumage is predominantly gray. Only the rump is white. The tail and wing feathers are black. Beak and legs are light gray. The male has a bare yellow spot behind and below the eye and bare black skin on the throat. During the breeding season, the male can lose his head and neck feathers and develop large pendulous skin flaps on the throat. Some individuals also develop small lobes above the beak. The shape and size of the flaps vary individually. However, the development of the lobes appears to increase as the bird ages and older females occasionally develop small lobes as well.
behavior
The Lappenstar is a colony breeder and occasionally breeds together with the Cape weaver . The nest is always built in trees or bushes. Preferred nesting trees are acacias . The nest is usually built one to ten meters above the ground. It consists of pointing and is laid out with grass and feathers. The clutch size varies between two to five eggs. The typical clutch, however, comprises three or four pale blue eggs. Both parent birds are involved in nest building as well as in incubating the eggs and feeding the young birds. The breeding season is 11 days. The young birds leave the nest after 13 to 16 days. They are not yet able to fly at this age and are very often struck by birds of prey during this period.
The Rag Star is an opportunistic omnivore that specializes in locusts and other swarming grasshoppers in some areas . Other invertebrates, berries and seeds also belong to its food spectrum. They can cause considerable damage in wine-growing regions.
literature
- David Burnie (Ed.): Birds. Dorling Kindersley, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8310-1272-5 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Burnie, p. 432
Web links
- Creatophora cinerea in the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN 2013.2. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2013.