Schiller gloss star
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Schillerglanzstar ( Lamprotornis iris ) |
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| ( Oustalet , 1879) |
The Schillerglanzstar ( Lamprotornis iris ) from the genus of the actual glossy starlings ( Lamprotornis ) is a species of bird from the family of the starlings (Sturnidae) and belongs to the order of the passerine birds (Passeriformes). In German it is sometimes also called Smaragdglanzstar or Iris-Glanzstar. It is a species endemic in West Africa south of the Sahara, 18–19 cm in size. It feeds on fruits and insects.
features
Physique and plumage
The Schillerglanzstar is 18–19 cm long and has a broad, shorter tail. It has so-called structural feathers, which produce their colors without pigments only by refraction. The special shine is caused by the melanosomes embedded in the structure of the feathers in the melanocytes , which are 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 upper head, the neck, the shoulders and the upper side including the upper tail feathers are kept in an iridescent, shiny emerald green, which can occasionally have a slightly yellowish bronze touch. Its wings are also emerald green, but sometimes also with a bronze-green tone. The reins between the beak and eyes as well as the ear covers and the side head are shiny blue-violet. The chin, throat and upper chest are shiny emerald green, while the underside from the lower chest, over the belt area and the belly, is purple and further down the rump is gray. The legs and beak are black. The juveniles largely correspond to the adult birds, but the lower breast, belt area and belly are brownish and dull. Wings and tail are more bronze-green and the armpits and forearm wings are gray-brown.
eye
The irises of the eyes are a dark brown. Like most bird species, apart from the nocturnal birds, the Schillerglanzstare see their environment differently than humans: the star has four and not only three types of photoreceptors (also called visual cells) 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 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
When the Schillerglanzstar starts a flight in the wild, it makes a longer, increasing sound like "wiiize-wiiize" or "wii-wii-wii". He announces his intention to fly with a "chiiep-chiiep".
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Habitat and Distribution
Its distribution area is in the West African countries of Guinea , Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast in two smaller in the allopatric sense spatially separated areas with an area of about 142,000 km². It is considered a resident bird species, which is suspected to be a seasonal migrant within the range of Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast.
Its preferred habitat are open savannahs with a light population of trees in which fruit-bearing bushes and trees can be found. He avoids wooded areas, but usually stays on the edges of gallery forests. In Sierra Leone it can be found in the distribution areas of the red-winged star ( Onychognthus morio ) and the copper- gloss star ( Hylopsar cupreocauda ).
Way of life and behavior
The Schillerglanzstar occurs mostly as a pair and in small groups of up to 10 birds, although outside of the breeding season it is occasionally found in flocks of up to 50 specimens. Its diet consists primarily of small fruits, such as the figs ( Ficus ) and the haronga tree ( Harungana madagascariensis ) [sometimes called dragon's blood tree], seeds, but also insects such as ants (Formicidae) and caterpillars (Lepidoptera), which he looks for on bare or burned-down surfaces on the ground.
Reproduction
It builds its nests in small cavities, tree stumps or small trees and in captivity also in open-topped nests, which it lines with green leaves. It is considered a cooperative breeder and the juveniles are fed by both parents. He also allows his young birds to support him in rearing them. During rearing, he can aggressively defend his nest. It has been observed that he drove away a hawk buzzard ( Kaupifalco monogrammicus ). Its clutch consists of 3–4 bluish eggs with red-brown speckles. The incubation period in captivity is 13-15 days and rearing is around 21 days. In captivity (England), Schillerglanzstare can live up to 14 years.
Existence and endangerment
Its existence is not clearly clarified. As this bird species was at times intensively traded in Liberia, it is possible that this has created a threat to the species. Insufficient information is available about the ecology and the trend of the population.
Systematics
The Schiller Glanzstar is in a direct relationship to six other Real Glanzstaren. Its sister species is the green- tailed gloss star ( Lamprotornis chalibaeus ). Its protonym (synonym) is Coccycolius iris , under which it is also listed in one or the other literature as a monophyletic genus. Genetic studies in the recent past have shown, however, that this species belongs to the group of the real starlings.
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literature
- Charles Hilary Fry , Stuart Keith , Emil K. Urban (Eds.): The Birds of Africa. Volume VI: Picathartes to Oxpeckers. Christopher Helm, London 2000, ISBN 978-01-21373-06-1 , pp. 619-620.
- 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.
- Frederike Woog: Seeing and being seen - the color vision of birds. in: The falcon. - Journal for Bird Watchers 5/2009. ( Online ).
- Rafael Maia, Dustin R. Rubenstein and Matthew D. Shawkey in: "Key ornamental innovations facilitate diversification in an avian radiation". Biological Sciences - Evolution: PNAS 2013 110 (26) 10687-10692; published ahead of print June 10, 2013, doi : 10.1073 / pnas.1220784110 .
- GE Hill & KJ McGraw (Eds, 2006): Bird Coloration. Vol. 1: Mechanisms and Measurements; Vol. 2: Function and Evolution .
- IJ Lovette, DR Rubenstein 2007: A comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the starlings (Aves: Sturnidae) and mockingbirds (Aves: Mimidae): Congruent mtDNA and nuclear trees for a cosmopolitan avian radiation. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 44, No. 3, pp. 1031-1056. Elsevier, September 2007, DOI: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2007.03.017 .
Web links
- Lamprotornis iris inthe IUCN Red List of Endangered Species 2015.3. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Emerald Starling ( Coccycolius iris ) . Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Emerald Starling (Lamprotornis iris) in the Internet Bird Collection
- Schillerglanzstar ( Lamprotornis iris ) at Avibase; accessed on October 21, 2015.
- Lamprotornis iris in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
- xeno-canto: sound recordings - Schillerglanzstar ( Lamprotornis iris )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Fry, CH, Keith, S. and Urban, EK (Eds) (2000). The birds of Africa Vol. VI, Academic Press, London.
- ↑ Rafael Maia, Dustin R. Rubenstein and Matthew D. Shawkey in: Key ornamental innovations facilitate diversification in an avian radiation ; Biological Sciences - Evolution: PNAS 2013 110 (26) 10687-10692. [1]
- ↑ Frederike Woog Seeing and being seen - color vision of birds in: Der Falke - Journal für Vogelbeobachter 5/2009. [2]
- ↑ a b BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Coccycolius iris. [3] . Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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. ( Memento of the original from November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on columbia.edu, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
