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Narrow-tailed starling

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Narrow-tailed starling
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sturnidae
Genus: Poeoptera
Species:
P. lugubris
Binomial name
Poeoptera lugubris
Bonaparte, 1854

The narrow-tailed starling (Poeoptera lugubris) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in West and Central Africa from Sierra Leone to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1]

Description

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The male is dark blue and the female is dark gray with chestnut-colored patches on the wings, visible in flight. Both sexes have long, narrow tails. Not a very noisy bird, this starling's vocalizations include shrill chirps, cries, and whistles.

Habitat

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Its habitat is the canopy of lowland forest, making use of secondary forest and forest clearings.

Diet

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It eats mostly fruit, and sometimes insects or seeds.

Behaviour

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These starlings form flocks of 10-30 or more birds, and sometimes will mix with other fruit-eating birds. This bird is a colony-nester, making its nest high up in dead trees in holes originally excavated by colonial cavity-nesting barbets, sometimes with both birds nesting in close proximity. Eggs are pale blue-gray with brown spots.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2018). "Poeoptera lugubris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22710587A132088802. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22710587A132088802.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ Feare, Chris; Craig, Adrian (1998). Starlings and Mynas. Christopher Helm. pp. 106, 245–246. ISBN 0-7136-3961-X.
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