Long-tailed Glossy Starling

Long-tailed Glossy Starling

Lamprotornis caudatus

Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

37 Verified sightings at Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary From 2019 to 2026
800 In all 4 parks
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%
2 Mole National Park 🇬🇭 Ghana
~50%
3 Saloum Delta National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
~40%
4 Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary 🇸🇳 Senegal
~30%

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 Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Glossy Starling sighting in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, based on 37 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 92nd most-seen of the 173 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Long-tailed Glossy Starling in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary?

January

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Glossy Starling in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on a given day, against about 10% in April, the lowest month. That is one of Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary's driest months, with almost no rain against 55 mm in August. May to October have too few records to rate.

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.

Which relatives of the Long-tailed Glossy Starling live in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary?

Same genus: Lamprotornis

The closest relatives of the Long-tailed Glossy Starling that you can see in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (genus Lamprotornis, Glossy Starlings and Allies) are Greater Blue-eared Starling (about 30%) and Chestnut-bellied Starling (about 10%), 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 Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (37 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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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