Kenrick's Starling - BirdForum Opus

Poeoptera kenricki

Identification

5.9 in (15 cm); weight 1.3–1.9 oz (38–54 g). A small, dark starling.

• Uniformely black with slight bronzy sheen
• Black bill and legs
• Yellow eyes

Females is greyer. Juvenile is similar to adult female, but duller and more sooty on the body.

Distribution

Restricted to the mountains of central Kenya and northeast and east Tanzania.
Fairly common but with a small range.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.
May form a superspecies and even sometimes considered conspecific with Stuhlmann's Starling.

Habitat

Forest canopy in high-rainfall areas. Occurs at 900 - 2500m.

Behaviour

Feeds exclusively on fruit, particularly figs. Forages in the canopy, usually in noisy flocks of up to 30 birds, often with Waller's Starling.
Breeding recorded in several months but main breeding season in october. Cavity nester that uses old woodpecker or barbet holes. No other informations.
A nomadic species but movements poorly known.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Kenrick's Starling. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Kenrick%27s_Starling

External Links

Search for photos of Kenrick's Starling in the gallery