Royal shine star
| Royal shine star | ||||||||||||
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Royal shine star ( Lamprotornis regius ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lamprotornis regius | ||||||||||||
| ( Reichenow , 1879) |
The Königsglanzstar ( Lamprotornis regius , Syn .: Cosmopsarus regius ) is an East African songbird from the genus of the actual glossy starlings .
features
The 35 centimeter long royal gloss star is colored metallic blue-green on the upper side, the chest is purple and the belly is golden yellow.
Occurrence
The standing bird lives in savannas, light forests and in acacia thickets; it occurs in Somalia , Ethiopia , eastern Kenya and northeastern Tanzania . The IUCN classifies the species as 
(= least concern - not endangered).
behavior
In contrast to other glossy starlings, which mainly feed on fruits, the royal glossy star almost exclusively eats insects that it catches in flight or on the ground. Snails, spiders, crustaceans or small vertebrates such as lizards sometimes complement the menu. The royal gloss star lives in small groups of three to ten birds that support each other in building nests and raising the young (see brood aid ).
Reproduction
The bird lives monogamous and nests in small colonies. He builds a nest in a tree hole or in an abandoned woodpecker hole, which is padded with dry grass, roots and leaves. The clutch comprises three to five eggs, which are pale blue-green in color and finely dotted with reddish brown.
literature
- Colin Harrison & Alan Greensmith: Birds . Dorling Kindersly Limited, London 1993, 2000, ISBN 3-8310-0785-3
- Bryan Richard: Birds . Parragon, Bath, ISBN 1-4054-5506-3
Web links
- Lamprotornis regius in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 30 of 2009.