Pholia sharpii
Sharpe's Starling (*Pholia sharpii*) is a small, striking passerine belonging to the Sturnidae family, known for its iridescent plumage and arboreal habits. Males exhibit a spectacular glossy purple-blue to blue-green iridescence across their upperparts, contrasting sharply with a pure white belly and vent, and finished with blackish flight feathers, dark eyes, and a black bill and legs. Females are noticeably duller, with grey-brown upperparts often showing a subtle greenish gloss, and mottl...
Found primarily in montane evergreen forests, forest edges, clearings, and secondary growth. It inhabits elevations ranging from 1,200 to 2,600 meters, occasionally recorded higher.
Their diet consists mainly of insects, such as beetles, ants, and termites, which they catch aerially or glean from vegetation, supplemented by small fruits.
Sharpe's Starlings are highly social birds, often observed in active flocks of 20 to 50 individuals, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, and frequently joining mixed-species foraging groups in the forest canopy. They are diurnal, spending their days actively searching for food in the mid- to upp...
Sharpe's Starling is endemic to the montane forests of the Albertine Rift, a biodiversity hotspot in East-Central Africa. Its core breeding range encompasses eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), western Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. This species is primarily found at elevations between 1,20...
Least Concern
- Sharpe's Starling is named after Richard Bowdler Sharpe, a prominent British zoologist and ornithologist from the 19th century. - Despite the male's vibrant iridescence, its preference for foraging high in the dense forest canopy can make it surprisingly difficult to spot. - They frequently ass...