Tail gloss star
| Tail gloss star | ||||||||||||
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Tail gloss star |
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| Lamprotornis purpuropterus | ||||||||||||
| Rüppell , 1845 |
The tail starfish ( Lamprotornis purpuropterus ) is a species of bird from the starling family .
Appearance
The tail gloss star is about 35 cm tall. The plumage of the adult birds is colored in dark, metallic shades of blue and shimmers slightly purple. The head is black and the eyes are very light yellow to ivory in color. Legs and beak are dark gray. The tail is very long compared to other representatives of the genus actual glossy starlings and appears in the rear third due to the tail feathers of different lengths on the edge.
The juveniles already look very similar to the adults , but their plumage is duller and the eyes a little darker.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the tail gloss star is in Central and East Africa . The northern border is in Sudan , the southern in Tanzania and the western in the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Forests, scrubland and cultural landscapes from sea level up to 2000 meters are settled.
Way of life and voice
The tail gloss star usually occurs in pairs, which are mostly on the ground. The singing is a long, complex and loud warble with both sharp and soft sounding tones. He is also good at imitating chants. Sitting and in flight, the call is “ swi-chou ” and a slightly trembling “ kwerr ”.
Systematics
The tailed star is within the genus Lamprotornis in a related group with four other species, all of which have very long and finely banded tails. Its sister species is the long-tailed gloss star ( L. caudatus ).
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swell
literature
- Irby J. Lovette , Dustin R. Rubenstein: A Comprehensive Molecular Phylogeny of the Starlings (Aves: Sturnidae) and mockingbirds (Aves: Mimidae): Congruent mtDNA and Nuclear Trees for a Cosmopolitan Avian Radiation. In: Molecual Genetics and Evolution 44 (3), 2007. doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2007.03.017 , pp. 1031-1056.
- Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe: Birds of East Africa . Princeton Field Guides, Princeton 2002, p. 496, ISBN 978-0-691-12665-4
Web links
- Lamprotornis purpuroptera inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 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 page 1024. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
