Superb starlings

Tags

birding, birdwatching, Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, Lamprotornis superbus, starling, Superb starling, Tanzania

The Superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus) is native to many east African countries – Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, where most of my photos were taken – but you only have to google their name to discover how widely they’ve spread throughout the world, either as specimens in zoos and bird parks (one of my photos was taken in the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park in 2013) or in the aviaries of bird collectors.

And it’s easy to see how they got their name – what truly stunning colours they are, from their iridescent blue backs and breasts and those glorious turquoise wings to their orange-red tummy and legs, all rounded off by a snowy white bottom! Like the starlings I’m more familiar with in Britain and New Zealand, Superb starlings are sociable birds, often to be heard chattering and singing their loud quavering songs in the company of others. Unlike their British and New Zealand counterparts, which are inclined to be nervous of people, the Superbs are quite bold and brassy and easily tamed.