Long-tailed Glossy Starling

Long-tailed Glossy Starling

Lamprotornis caudatus

Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Doha

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

88 Verified sightings at Doha
526 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Long-tailed Glossy Starling

The long-tailed glossy starling (Lamprotornis caudatus) is a member of the starling family of birds. It is a resident breeder in tropical Africa from Senegal east to Sudan. This common passerine is typically found in open woodland and cultivation. The long-tailed glossy starling builds a nest in a hole. The normal clutch is two to four eggs.

This ubiquitous bird is gregarious and noisy, with a harsh grating call. The adults of these 54 cm (21 in) long birds have metallic green upperparts, violet underparts and a 34 cm (13 in) long purple tail. The face is black with a yellow eye. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller, with a brownish tone to the plumage.

Like most starlings, the long-tailed glossy starling is an omnivore, eating fruit and insects. Barlow, Clive; Wacher, Tim (1997). Birds of The Gambia and Senegal. Illustrated by Tony Disley. Pica. ISBN 978-1-873403-32-7. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:01

Senegal · 2026

© Peter Boesman · XC1081250 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song1:05

Senegal · 2024

© Frank Lambert · XC1041412 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight call0:06

Gambia · 2025

© Romuald Mikusek · XC1018439 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
~90%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Maiduguri 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~50%
2 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~50%
3 Serrekunda 🇬🇲 Gambia
~40%
4 Dakar 🇸🇳 Senegal
~30%
5 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
~30%
6 N'Djamena 🇹🇩 Chad
~20%
7 Abuja 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~10%
8 Doha 🇶🇦 Qatar
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Pairi Daiza 🇧🇪 Belgium In captivity
2 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
3 Al Ain Zoo 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates In captivity
4 Berlin Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
5 Lisbon Zoo 🇵🇹 Portugal In captivity
6 Öland Zoo and Amusement Park 🇸🇪 Sweden In captivity
7 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
8 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
9 African Village 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates In captivity
10 Paphos Zoo 🇨🇾 Cyprus In captivity
11 Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens 🇨🇳 China In captivity
12 Santillana Zoo 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
13 World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
14 Central Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Vogelpark Heiligenkirchen 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
16 Edward Youde Aviary 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China In captivity
17 Taichung Aquarium 🇹🇼 Taiwan In captivity
18 Aquarium Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Long-tailed Glossy Starling in Doha?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Glossy Starling sighting in Doha on a given day, based on 88 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 103 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Long-tailed Glossy Starling in Doha?

January, May and July–August

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Glossy Starling in Doha on a given day, against about 10% in February–April, June and September–December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Long-tailed Glossy Starling?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Long-tailed Glossy Starling sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Doha the best place to see a Long-tailed Glossy Starling?

8th of 8

Of the 8 cities where we can rate Long-tailed Glossy Starling sightings, Doha ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Maiduguri (Nigeria, about 50%), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso, about 50%) and Serrekunda (Gambia, about 40%).

Which relatives of the Long-tailed Glossy Starling live in Doha?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Long-tailed Glossy Starling that you can see in Doha (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are White-eared Bulbul (over 90%), House Sparrow (over 90%) and Indian Silverbill (about 90%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Long-tailed Glossy Starling sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Long-tailed Glossy Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Doha (88 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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