In the previous edition of KRUGER MAGAZINE, we discussed some of the starlings to be found in the Kruger National Park. These were the ‘shining birds’ – the so-called glossy starlings of which there are five species. In this issue we will look at the remaining four – the violet-backed, wattled and red-winged starlings, and the common myna, an invasive alien species.
The violet-backed is almost certainly the most beautiful of the starlings in the Kruger. They too have highly iridescent plumage but are not from the same genus as the other glossy starlings. The glossies are mainly from the genus Lamprotornis, meaning ‘shining bird’, but in this respect, the violet-backed easily outshines them all. It has also been called the ‘amethyst starling’, which is probably the most appropriate of its names as it is truly one of our avian jewels. It has the scientific name Cinnyricinclus (shining thrush) leucogaster (white bellied).
“The violet-backed is almost certainly the most beautiful of the starlings in the Kruger.”
is an independent environmental consultant who retired from SANParks in 2007.
