Golden-breasted Starling (Lamprotornis regius)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Golden-breasted Starling

Lamprotornis regius (Reichenow, 1879)

35 cmLength54 gWeight

The adult has a golden-yellow breast and belly, a metallic green sheen on the head and a long tail gleaming violet-blue.

Most records: Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Adult’s breast and belly bright golden-yellow
  2. Adult’s head and upper back have a metallic green sheen
  3. Adult’s long tail has a metallic violet-blue sheen
  4. Adult’s iris white; bill, legs and feet dark

Male, female and young

Sexes similar; juveniles have duller plumage than adults.

Where and when it's recorded

Golden-breasted Starling has been recorded at 28 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 5 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Samburu NRKenya413 records
  2. Sagala Lodge/Ndara RanchKenya195 records
  3. Tsavo East NP – Southern SectionKenya194 records
More places
  1. Tsavo West NPKenya171 records
  2. Tsavo East NPKenya160 records
  3. Buffalo Springs NRKenya141 records
  4. Shaba NRKenya123 records
  5. Buffalo Springs NR / Samburu NRKenya65 records
  6. Tsavo West NP – Kilaguni LodgeKenya57 records
  7. Meru NPKenya52 records

Countries and regions with the most records

KenyaEthiopiaTanzaniaSomaliaChina

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The golden-breasted starling (Lamprotornis regius), also known as royal starling, is a medium-sized passerine in the starling family.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Golden-breasted Starling?

The Golden-breasted Starling is about 35 cm long and weighs around 54 g.

Where does the Golden-breasted Starling live?

Its breeding range: Africa: Ethiopia and Somalia to northern Tanzania. It is most often recorded in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Is the Golden-breasted Starling endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Golden-breasted Starling as Least Concern.

What does the Golden-breasted Starling eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Golden-breasted Starling in?

It belongs to the family Starlings, Rhabdornises (Sturnidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
35 cm
Weight
54 g
Habitat
Shrubland
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Varied
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
127 mm
Tail
197 mm
Bill
21 mm
Tarsus
32 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Africa: Ethiopia and Somalia to northern Tanzania

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Starlings, Rhabdornises Sturnidae
Genus
Lamprotornis

Other birds in the genus Lamprotornis

Cape StarlingCape StarlingLamprotornis nitensGreater Blue-eared StarlingGreater Blue-eared StarlingLamprotornis chalybaeusLesser Blue-eared StarlingLesser Blue-eared StarlingLamprotornis chloropterusBronze-tailed StarlingBronze-tailed StarlingLamprotornis chalcurusSplendid StarlingSplendid StarlingLamprotornis splendidusPrincipe StarlingPrincipe StarlingLamprotornis ornatusEmerald StarlingEmerald StarlingLamprotornis irisPurple StarlingPurple StarlingLamprotornis purpureusRüppell's StarlingRüppell's StarlingLamprotornis purpuropteraLong-tailed Glossy StarlingLong-tailed Glossy StarlingLamprotornis caudatusMeves's StarlingMeves's StarlingLamprotornis mevesiiBurchell's StarlingBurchell's StarlingLamprotornis australis
Golden-breasted Starling

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by billyschofield. ↗

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