Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The violet-backed starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster), also known as the plum-coloured starling or amethyst starling, or Ndambamukula in the Venda language, is a relatively small species (17 cm) of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is the only member of the genus Cinnyricinclus. This strongly sexually dimorphic species is found widely in the woodlands and savannah forest edges of mainland sub-Saharan Africa. It is rarely seen on the ground, but instead found in trees and other locations away from the ground.
The violet-backed starling was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1775 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Turdus leucogaster in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The type locality is Benin in West Africa. The violet-backed starling... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 7 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Pairi Daiza | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 4 | North Carolina Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Bronx Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Kansas City Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Brookfield Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Milwaukee County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Toledo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Assiniboine Park Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 14 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 16 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Schönbrunn Zoo | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 18 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 19 | Ueno Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 20 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 21 | Riverbanks Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 22 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 23 | Vogelpark Avifauna | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 24 | Central Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Vogelpark Heiligenkirchen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 26 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 27 | Sobela Ocean Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 28 | Exotic Animal World | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Violet-backed Starling sighting in Etosha National Park on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 156th most-seen of the 260 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Violet-backed Starling in Etosha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to November, the lowest months. That is one of Etosha National Park's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain against almost none in June.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Violet-backed Starling sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
29th of 38
Of the 38 parks where we can rate Violet-backed Starling sightings, Etosha National Park ranks 29th at under 5%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 50%), Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%) and Kruger National Park (South Africa, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Sturnidae
The closest relatives of the Violet-backed Starling that you can see in Etosha National Park (family Sturnidae, Starlings) are Red-shouldered Glossy-starling (about 70%), Burchell's Glossy-starling (about 10%) and Wattled Starling (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Violet-backed Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Etosha National Park (59 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.
