Meet Greater Blue-Eared Starling, Pinnacle Of Blue Beauty In Birds

This species is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, from southern Mauritania and Senegal to Ethiopia and south through eastern Africa to north-eastern South Africa and Angola. They are absent from the rainforests along the Gulf of Guinea and the congo river basin.

These starlings are easy to recognize. First, their upright posture, stout bill, and short tail help define their jizz in the starling family, and their bright colors are key identification features. Genders are similar with teal-blue upperparts that show a brilliant shiny, metallic iridescence in good light. A blue-black, mask-like facial patch surrounds the eyes and extends over the auriculars. Evenly spaced, relatively uniform black spots create two wing bars. The underparts are more deeply colored and the abdomen and flanks are blue-purple. This bird's plumage may show different hues or degrees of coloration depending on the viewing angle and quality of light. The eyes are bright yellow or yellow-orange with a dark pupil, and the legs and feet are gray-black.