Starlings, Harare, Zimbabwe (1 Viewer)

Kamba · Mar 5, 2017

Hi All,

I'm going around in circles a little bit with these.

The first three were in my garden in Harare last October. The last two in a miombo woodland in Harare today.

I have 1-3 recorded as Greater Blue Eared Starling; and 4 and 5 recorded as Miombo Blue Eared Starling (really only going on the size of the ear coverts).

Am I on the right track here?

MariettaBirder · Mar 5, 2017

They all look like Greater Blue Eared to me.

Kamba · Mar 6, 2017

Many thanks for the reply.

What, exactly am I looking for here? There is an excellent pic in the gallery here of a Greater and Lesser together on the same perch and, apart from the obvious size difference, I still can't tell the difference!

Is there any way, when looking at a single bird, to tell one which one I'm looking at?

Any help much appreciated.

Keanumrc · Mar 7, 2017

I'm not sure if we'll be able to identify any of your birds with certainty, as these two species are very difficult to tell apart from each other, but here are some id tips if both species aren't present together:
- Miombo Blue-eared juveniles have distinctive chestnut coloured underpants (adults seen with the juveniles can then easily be identified)
- Their calls are different so it'll be helpful to get to know them
- Habitat preferences - Miombo Blue-eared not surprisingly occurs mainly in Miombo, but Greater Blue-eared is uncommon in Miombo

Starlings, Harare, Zimbabwe (1 Viewer)

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