Red-bellied star
| Red-bellied star | ||||||||||||
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Red-bellied gloss star ( Lamprotornis pulcher ) |
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| Lamprotornis pulcher | ||||||||||||
| ( Statius Müller , 1776) |
The red-bellied gloss star ( Lamprotornis pulcher ) is a smaller star from the genus of the actual gloss starlings ( Lamprotornis ) from the family of passerine birds (Passeriformes). It has an iridescent , metallic shimmering greenish, partially bluish and brown plumage with a reddish brown belly and is a species endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, the range of which lies in a broad band from Senegal in the west to Eritrea in the east. It feeds mainly on insects, worms and other invertebrates as well as on fruits and seeds.
features
Physique and plumage
The red-bellied gloss star ( Lamprotornis pulcher ) is about 20 cm long and weighs between 59 and 74 grams. Its highly iridescent, metallic, shiny plumage gets its play of colors from so-called structural feathers, which produce their colors only through light refraction and without pigments. The special shine is caused by the melanosomes embedded in the structure of the feathers in the melanocytes , which are located under a keratin film . The special feature of these melanosomes are their platelet-like and hollow shape. The platelets are layered once and / or multiple times and are arranged in a uniform or alternating manner in their order.
The crown part of the head is brown, the top with the neck including the sides, shoulders and back are pale bronze-green and the top of the tail in shiny greenish blue. The reins between the beak and eyes are dark brown and the cheeks and ear covers are a slightly lighter brown shade. From chin to chest, the red-bellied star is pale bronze-green and, according to its name, the belly, rump, as well as the flanks and underside of the tail are red-brown. The red-brown area is clearly defined in terms of color from the rest of the plumage. The wings are brownish at first and, towards the outer wing feathers, are shiny greenish blue. The lower inner flight feathers are yellowish-brown and the armpits and the lower flight feathers are red-brown. Legs and beak are black. The red-bellied Glanszstar has a wingspan of about 262 mm and a tail length of 62–70 mm.
Distinguishing features from other red-bellied starling species such as the Hildebrandt gloss star ( L. hildebrandti ) and the Shelley gloss star ( L. shelleyi ) are the white eyes and the non-existent conspicuous rows of dark spots on the wings. Compared to the three-colored gloss star ( L. superbus ), it lacks in particular the white separating stripe on the chest and the white rump.
eye
The iris of the eyes is white to yellowish-white. Like most bird species, except for the nocturnal birds, the red-bellied starlings see their environment differently from humans. In contrast to humans, the star has four and not just three types of photoreceptors (also called photoreceptors ) on the retina for color vision . In addition to the thinner rod-shaped receptors responsible for black and white vision, four cone-shaped receptor types are responsible for perception in starlings (tetrachromatic vision). Three of the four cone-shaped receptor types are responsible for the area of light that is visible to humans (trichromatic vision), which make the three primary colors red, green and blue visible. The fourth receptor is responsible for the perception in the area of ultraviolet light , which is not visible to humans. The incidence of light stimulates the various types of receptors within the strongly folded membranes, which are provided with different colored oil droplets, with different intensities. The responsible receptors react more or less strongly to the different wavelengths of light, so that the different colors and hues are perceived. The additional UV receptor compared to humans allows the starlings to perceive our environment in a much more differentiated or different way. With the help of the UV receptors, the star is able to better and more easily recognize differences in other conspecifics, the degree of ripeness of the fruit or traces that we cannot see.
Vocalizations
In flight, the red-bellied star emits a high-pitched, trilling and very mechanical sounding "trrrriiaerrr" and "trrrriiiioo", while in the event of danger he has very different warning calls available that sound like trilling "wiiii" or "Tschewiichewii". He has special sounds for certain types of danger. In response to danger from the ground, like snakes, he lets you hear clearly audible hissing sounds as an answer, which sound like a "Tsch" and are quickly repeated. In the event of dangers from the air, such as birds of prey, it emits a loud, high-frequency “pee pee” that is repeated quickly and often. During the hot times of the day, when the groups are resting, only a few sounds can be heard and most of them only softly.
Juvenile
The juveniles are dark brown on the head and its sides and the rest of the top is dark brown with a slightly greenish glossy accent. The young bird is also brown from chin to chest. The belly and rump are red-brown and the eyes are brown.
Habitat and Distribution
The red-bellied starling is an endemic species found in sub-Saharan Africa, which can be found predominantly in the rather dry, hotter areas of the Sahel and Sudanese zones with open acacia savannahs and steppe with thorn bushes. It is a largely sedentary species that only occasionally roams locally. It lives from low-lying areas up to 2,440 m above sea level on the Ethiopian plateau. The species is also found in urban settlement areas with farmland and occasionally in urban areas.
Its approx. 3,750,000 km² distribution area extends from the west of the African continent with South Mauritania and Senegal , where it is widespread, and rarely in Gambia , Guinea-Bissau and Guinea via South Mali , Burkina Faso , the north of the Ivory Coast , Ghana and Togos , where it was only observed sporadically and seasonally, via Niger and Nigeria , Chad , North Cameroon and Sudan to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the east of the continent. However, it is usually not found in the coastal regions of Eritrea, where it is otherwise widespread. Its distribution area largely overlaps in its southern extent with that of the green-tailed starlings ( Lamprotornis chalybaeus chalybaeus ), while the distribution areas of the somewhat similar Hildebrandt and Shelly starlings do not overlap with his, so that no confusion should occur.
Way of life and behavior
The red-bellied star mostly lives in smaller groups between 10 and 30 conspecifics, which are composed of 2–6 families. It is less common in larger groups of up to 50 specimens. Outside the breeding season, the groups regularly leave their foraging territory in the evening to spend the night outside of this area.
food
The red-bellied glossy star shapes its diet mainly searching on the ground with insects such as ants (Formicidae), termites (Isoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), bugs (Heteroptera), locusts (Orthoptera) and worms , which make up the majority of the diet. But it also consumes various fruits of different sizes, such as the large ones of the neem tree ( Azadirachta indica ), fruits of the genus Loranthus from the family of belt flowers (Loranthaceae), the genus Lantana . Berries of the genus Salvadora , which occur throughout the range, also play an important role for this species, as they contain essential substances such as mustard oil glycosides as defense-promoting substances against infections or flavonoids , which are said to have an antioxidant effect. Likewise, seeds are mainly consumed by acacia species.
Nest building, clutch and breeding behavior
The red-bellied star is considered to be a monogamous species and a cooperative breeder that raises its brood with helpers from its group. During the breeding season, the groups have a slightly territorial behavior towards other groups of the same species. Usually not all pairs of a group breed at the same time, so that there is space for them to act as helpers. Its nests are typically built by males and females in thorny trees and bushes such as acacias, desert dates ( Balanites aegyptiaca ) and Indian jujube ( Ziziphus mauritiana ) between 1.5 and 5 m high. They consist mainly of dry grass, mostly in a messy structure, large, round and dome-like, with side access. The padding is mostly done with feathers and occasionally with snake skins. He also builds nests in less defensive trees, such as those of the genus Parkia at heights of 6 - 12 m, which occur over the entire range, as well as eucalyptus ( eucalyptus ), cassia ( cassia ) and tamarind tree ( Tamarindus indica ), which then access to the nest is protected by additional branches of thorns. However, he also very often uses nests built and abandoned by other bird species, such as those of woodpeckers, which are then often only padded with shavings, but often also abandoned nests of different species of weaver birds. In today's Eritrea (formerly Ethiopia / Abyssinia), the peculiarity of the Mereb Valley was observed that in all weaver bird nests of the Alektowebers ( Bubalornis albirostris ) several pairs of the red-bellied star lived in these in cooperation with the builders.
The main breeding season is in the pre-season of the rainy season, in which two to three times are regularly incubated. The red-shouldered star also usually breeds shortly after the rainy season. The females lay three to five greenish-blue eggs about 25 × 18 mm in size with a few reddish-brown and purple spots and dots. The breeding season is essentially between February and November, but very different from region to region and depending on the rainy seasons. After approximately 13-18 days of incubation, the juveniles fledge after an additional 18-25 days. Up to 13 helpers per nest were observed. Since the mortality rate of the brood, especially in groups with few helpers, is relatively higher, and then juveniles also starve to death more often, such breeding behavior is vital for the species. The helpers perform their services within the natal group, with the young male Red Shoulder Starlings may also try to help out in neighboring groups. However, this is regularly fought off vehemently by these neighbors.
Predators and parasites
Brood parasites can be the cap cuckoo ( Clamator levaillantii ), the African cuckoo ( Cuculus gularis ) and the large honey indicator ( Indicator indicator ), although one study showed that the latter two were always driven away by the red-shouldered starlings in 120 nests in Nigeria . The tortoiseshell ( Corvus albus ) is also considered a nest predator of the red-bellied starling, which breaks open its nests and eats the eggs or young birds there. Other predators of the red-bellied star are the red-necked falcon ( Falco chicquera ), the gabar goshawk ( Micronisus gabar ) and the cave harrier ( Polyboroides typus ) and the northern rock python ( Phyton sebae ). Likewise, people (children have been observed here) who plunder the nests are also a great danger.
Danger
The world population for this species is not known, however, due to the size of its range and the locally frequent to very frequent occurrence of the IUCN as a non-endangered species (least concern).
Systematics
The red-bellied gloss star from the genus actual gloss starlings ( Lamprotornis ) is related to seven other species, none of which is directly related. His protonym is Turdus pulcher .
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Etymology and history of research
The term “Lamprotornis” is derived from the Greek words “ lamprotēs, lampros λαμπροτης, λαμπρος ” for “splendor, radiant” and “ ornis όρνις ” for “bird”. Richard Bowdler Sharpe described the red-bellied star under the name Spreo pulcher . In 1820 Coenraad Jacob Temminck introduced the genus Lamprotornis, among other things, for the red-shouldered gloss star ( Lamprotornis nitens ( Linnaeus , 1766)), which was later temporarily assigned to the red-bellied gloss star.
literature
- Charles Hilary Fry , Stuart Keith , Emil K. Urban (Eds.): The Birds of Africa. Volume VI: Picathartes to Oxpeckers. Christopher Helm, London 2000, ISBN 0-12-137306-1 , pp. 628-632.
- Frederike Woog See and be seen - the color vision of birds. In: Der Falke - Journal for Bird Watchers. 5/2009. ( Schattenblick.de . Accessed July 11, 2015.)
- Rafael Maia, Dustin R. Rubenstein, Matthew D. Shawkey: Key ornamental innovations facilitate diversification in an avian radiation . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . tape 110 , no. 26 , June 25, 2013, pp. 10687-10692 , doi : 10.1073 / pnas.1220784110 .
- IJ Lovette, DR Rubenstein: "A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the Starlings" (Aves: Sturnidae) and mockingbirds (Aves: Mimidae) _ Congruent mtDNA and nuclear trees for a cosmopolitan avian radiation / press article from Columbia University. ( columbia.edu ( memento of June 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) PDF) Retrieved on March 22, 2015.
- GE Hill & KJ McGraw (Eds, 2006): Bird Coloration. Volume 1: Mechanisms and Measurements. Volume 2: Function and Evolution.
- AJFK Craig, CJ Feare: Family Sturnidae (Starlings). In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, DA Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the birds of the world. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2009, pp. 654-760.
- IUCN Redlist of threatened species. Version 2015.2.
- James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
- Richard Bowdler Sharpe: Catalog of the Birds in the British Museum . tape 13 . Order of the Trustees, London 1890 ( biodiversitylibrary.org [accessed November 25, 2015]).
- Coenraad Jacob Temminck: Manuel d'ornithologie, ou Tableau systematique des oiseaux qui se trouvent en Europe; Précédé d'une table alphabétique des Espèces . 2nd Edition. tape 1 . H. Cousin, Paris 1840 ( biodiversitylibrary.org [accessed November 25, 2015] first edition: 1815).
Web links
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Chestnut-bellied Starling ( Lamprotornis pulcher )
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Chestnut-bellied Starling (Lamprotornis pulcher) in the Internet Bird Collection
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Charles Hilary Fry, Stuart Keith, Emil K. Urban (eds.): The Birds of Africa. . Volume VI: Picathartes to Oxpeckers . Christopher Helm, London 2000, ISBN 0-12-137306-1 , pp. 628-632 .
- ↑ Rafael Maia, Dustin R. Rubenstein, Matthew D. Shawkey: Key ornamental innovations facilitate diversification in an avian radiation . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . tape 110 , no. 26 , June 25, 2013, pp. 10687-10692 , doi : 10.1073 / pnas.1220784110 .
- ↑ Frederike Woog See and be seen - color vision of birds. In: Der Falke - Journal for Bird Watchers. 5/2009 ( schattenblick.de ).
- ↑ a b C. Feare, A. Craig 1998: Starlings and Mynas. Christopher Helm, London (BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Chestnut-bellied Starling ( Lamprotornis_pulcher ) . Retrieved November 22, 2015.)
- ↑ Irby J. Lovette, Dustin R. Rubenstein 2007: A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the Starlings and Mockingbirds - Congruent mtDNA and nuclear trees for a cosmopolitan avian radiation. ( columbia.edu ( memento of November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) PDF) on columbia.edu, 2015. Accessed on March 22, 2015.
- ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 218.
- ^ Richard Bowdler Sharpe, pp. 187 & 191.
- ^ Coenraad Jacob Temminck, S. LV-LVI.