Hylopsar purpureiceps
The Purple-headed Starling, *Hylopsar purpureiceps*, is a striking member of the Sturnidae family, renowned for its dazzling iridescent plumage. Measuring approximately 23 cm (9.1 in) in length and weighing around 70 grams (2.5 oz), this medium-sized starling exhibits a distinctive deep, shimmering violet-purple head that contrasts sharply with its metallic blue-green body. Its wings and tail are typically a darker, glossy black-blue, sometimes with a subtle coppery sheen depending on the lig...
This species primarily inhabits lowland to mid-elevation tropical moist broadleaf forests, forest edges, and mature secondary woodlands. It prefers areas with a dense canopy and emergent trees for nesting and roosting, typically found below 1,500 meters (4,900 ft).
Primarily insectivorous and frugivorous, consuming a wide range of invertebrates, especially beetles, ants, and caterpillars, supplemented significantly by various forest fruits and berries. They forage by gleaning from foliage, probing bark, and occasional aerial hawking.
Purple-headed Starlings are largely diurnal, active from dawn to dusk, often seen foraging in the canopy or mid-story, and sometimes on the forest floor, typically roosting communally in large trees at night. Their foraging strategies involve gleaning insects from foliage, probing bark crevices, ...
The Purple-headed Starling is a resident species found primarily across Central and West Africa, with its core distribution spanning from southeastern Nigeria and Cameroon, eastward through Gabon, Congo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, extending south into Angola's Cabinda exclave. Its rang...
Least Concern
- The iridescent purple of its head is not due to pigment, but to the microscopic structure of its feathers, which diffracts light like a prism. - Despite its vivid colors, it can be surprisingly cryptic in the dense forest canopy, its iridescence often only visible when struck by direct sunlight...