Ashy Starling

Distribution

It is found in Kenya and Tanzania.

Diet

Diet largely includes insects; some fruit taken. Insects including termites (Isoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), mantids (Mantodea), dragonflies (Odonata), lacewings (Neuroptera) and caterpillars (Lepidoptera); berries of Cordia and Commiphora found in some stomach contents; kitchen scraps eaten, including rice and porridge.

Information

An unusual slim brownish-gray starling with a long, narrow tail. The eye is pale, and there is a greenish gloss on the back and tail in fresh plumage. A Tanzanian endemic that is found in moderately moist savanna and woodland, usually in small flocks, often feeding on the ground. Rüppell’s Starling also has a long tail, but Ashy is easily separated by being gray rather than glossy blue-black. Makes quiet mewing, rasping, and chattering calls.

Ashy Starling

Other birds