About Lamprotornis nitens (Linnaeus, 1766)
The Cape starling (scientific name Lamprotornis nitens (Linnaeus, 1766)) has an adult body length of around 25 cm (10 in) and an adult weight of around 100 grams (3.5 oz). Adult Cape starlings have fairly uniformly bright, glossy plumage: their head is blue with darker ear coverts, and their upper body is greenish-blue. This species produces a long warbling song that may include imitations of sounds from its surrounding environment. The Cape starling is native to southern Africa. Its range covers extreme southern Gabon, western and southern Angola, extreme southern Zambia, and the entirety of Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa. It occurs as a vagrant in the Republic of the Congo, where it does not breed. It is a non-migratory resident species across the rest of its range, and its total extent of occurrence is approximately 3,000,000 square kilometres (1,200,000 sq mi). Cape starlings inhabit areas that have trees suitable for roosting and nesting. They do not live in dense forest or pasture, and are not associated with any specific type of plant. They can be found in open woodland, plantations, savannah, bushveld, rough grassland, parks and gardens, and are quite abundant in the central Kalahari, where isolated trees grow.
