Africa Wild

A Pale-winged Starling does not look "pale-winged" at rest , it has a white patch in the primaries, but it appears to be orange-edged.
So best told from Red-winged cousin by the orange eyes.


at Augrabies




Or you go for the ID with a distribution map





Description
27 cm. Uniformely glossy black plumage. Pale rufous panel on wing (well visible in flight). Orange-yellow eye. Black bill and legs. Sexes similar. Juveniles are less glossy than adults and have a brown eye.

Distribution and habitat
Near-endemic to southern Africa, occurring from southern Angola through Namibia to the Northern, Western and Eastern Cape, marginally extending into the Free State. It generally prefers habitats with rock-strewn hills and valleys, as it is dependant on them for nesting and roosting sites. It generally avoids man-made areas, although it occasionally ventures into cities in search of food.

Food
It mainly eats insects, fruit, seeds, nectar and pollen, foraging on the ground or gleaning food from vegetation; it also regularly hawks prey from a perch. In addition it may remove ectoparasites from Klipspringers (Oreatragus Oreatragus) and Mountain zebra (Equus zebra). The following food items have been recorded in its diet: Termites, butterflies (Lepidoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), Coleoptera (beetles), fruit, seeds, nectar and pollen of Aloe.

Breeding
Monogamous and semi-colonial, meaning that a number of breeding pairs may build their nests in close proximity to each other on a cliff. The nest is a cup built of sticks and dry grass, typically wedged in a crevice cleft in a rock, or rarely in building. Egg-laying season is from October-April. It lays 2-5 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 20 days. The chicks are fed by both parents, leaving the nest after about 25 days.

They overlap only in the cape and very little even there

Pied Starling

Description
Length 25 cm, weight 100 g.
Adult: Dark blackish brown; wings and tail have a greenish sheen. The belly and vent are white. The bill is black above and yellow below, with a yellow wattle at the gape, and the eye is white.
Immature: The whole bill is dark, and the eyes are brown.

Distribution and habitat
Endemic to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, generally preferring open habitats with lots of grass, such as cultivated areas, grassland and rural settlements, but generally avoiding larger cities and towns.

Food
It mainly eats arthropods, supplemented with seeds, fruit and nectar, doing most of its foraging on the ground. It often associates with livestock, catching the prey they disturb and removing ticks from their skin.

Breeding
Monogamous, usually colonial cooperative breeder, nesting either solitarily or in colonies ranging from a few pairs to several thousand individuals. The breeding pair are typically assisted by up to 7 helpers, who are either immature or unmated adults, often becoming the mate of a bird previously assisted in an earlier breeding season. Egg-laying season is year-round, peaking from August-January. It lays 2-6 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 14-16 days. The chicks are fed by parents and helpers, leaving the nest after about 23-27 days; helpers continue to feed them for about a week more before they become independent.

Pied Starling (Rietvlei)

Pied Starling

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Description
Length 21-24 cm. A rather large starling with a relatively short tail. Blue-green forehead, crown, nape and upperparts. Blackish lores. Glossy-blue ear-coverts forming a distinctive patch. Blue-green wings. Glossy-blue green chin, throat, breast and undertail-coverts. Blue flanks, belly and tighs with violet sheen. White to yellow to orange to red eye. Black bill and legs.
Sexes similar. Juveniles much duller.

Distribution and habitat
Occurs in a band from Senegal to Ethiopia, south through Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia to southern Africa. Here it is locally common in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa, extending into northern Botswana and Namibia. It generally prefers open savanna woodland with dense undergrowth, such as Mopane and Acacia.

Food
It eats a variety of insects, fruit and small invertebrates, foraging in trees and on the ground.

Breeding
The nest is built by both sexes, consisting of a simple pad of dry grass and feathers placed in a tree cavity, either natural or an old woodpecker or barbet hole. Egg-laying season is from August-January, peaking from October-November. It lays 2-5 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 13-14 days. The chicks fed by both parents on a diet of insects and at a later stage berries, leaving the nest after 23 days.

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Violet-backed Starling - Male

Lis, thank you for doing the Starling specie for us in April.

All information was very interesting - thanks to all

Violet-backed Starling

Description
16 cm.
Male: Iridescent metallic purple head, throat, back and tail. Deep purplish blue wings. White breast and belly, occasionally lightly streaked. Iris with yellow outer ring and dark inner ring.
Female: Brown head and back with streaked appearance. White belly, heavily streaked.
Juveniles are similar to females.

Distribution and habitat
Occurs across much of sub-Saharan Africa, excluding Somalia and central DRC, from Senegal to Ethiopia south to southern Africa. Here it is seasonally common to abundant from northern Namibia and Botswana to Zimbabwe, Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa, generally preferring riverine forest and savanna woodland.

Movements and migrations
Intra-African migrant, living in tropical Africa before heading south to southern Africa to breed, mainly arriving in September. It often moves locally in response to tree's fruiting cycles, eventually leaving around May.

Food
It eats insects and fruit, gleaning food from leaves and branches and occasionally hawking prey aerially.

Breeding
The nest is a structure built of coarse plant material and leaves, typically placed in a tree cavity or hollow fence post. Egg-laying season is from October-March. It lays 2-4 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 12-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents on a diet of mainly insects, leaving the nest after about 17-21 days.