Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
The Violet-backed Starling, a gem among African passerines, is renowned for its striking sexual dimorphism and vibrant plumage. Males boast an iridescent, glossy violet upperparts that shimmer in the sunlight, contrasting sharply with their pristine white underparts, a distinctive field mark. Their bright yellow eyes add to their captivating appearance. Females are more subdued, with duller brown-grey upperparts and heavily streaked white underparts, making them easily distinguishable from th...
Found primarily in a variety of wooded habitats, including open woodlands, savannas, riverine forests, and forest edges, often venturing into gardens and cultivation; typically found at elevations from sea level up to 1,800 meters.
Primarily frugivorous, consuming a wide variety of berries and fruits; supplements its diet with insects, particularly during the breeding season, often by gleaning or hawking.
Violet-backed Starlings are diurnal and highly social, especially outside the breeding season when they form large, often noisy, mixed-species flocks that gather at communal roosts at dusk. Their foraging strategy primarily involves gleaning fruits from trees and shrubs, but they also hawk for in...
The Violet-backed Starling is widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, encompassing a vast breeding and non-breeding range. Its northern limit extends into the Sahel region of West Africa and Ethiopia, stretching south through the equatorial forests and savannas of Central and East Africa, a...
Least Concern
- The male Violet-backed Starling’s iridescent violet plumage is not due to pigment but to the microscopic structure of their feathers, which refracts light. - Despite being starlings, they are one of the most frugivorous members of their family, with fruit making up a significant portion of thei...