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Species of bird From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The magpie starling (Speculipastor bicolor) is a member of the starling family from eastern Africa.
Magpie starling | |
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At Shaba, Kenya | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Sturnidae |
Genus: | Speculipastor Reichenow, 1879 |
Species: | S. bicolor |
Binomial name | |
Speculipastor bicolor Reichenow, 1879 | |
The magpie starling is about 16–19 cm (6.5–7.5 in) in length. The white patches at base of primaries are obvious in flight. The male is a shiny blue-black on upperparts, head and upper breast, with mostly white below and bloodred eyes. The female is a dull blackish above with dark grey crown, and a dark grey throat is separated from white belly by a glossy black breast band. Her eyes are red or orange-red. The Juvenile is brown with a white belly; eyes brown, becoming orange-red in as the bird matures. Exceptional young birds are entirely white below, including chin and throat.
The call is a prolonged soft babbling quereeeh quaaa kereek quak-quak, suaaaa, cherak-chik-chak...mixed higher harsh notes.
It is a gregarious nomadic pied starling of dry brush and thorn-scrub in northern and eastern Kenya. It is also found in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.[1]
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