Lamprotornis nitens
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Cape starling (Lamprotornis nitens), also known as red-shouldered glossy-starling or Cape glossy starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Southern Africa, where it lives in woodlands, bushveld and in suburbs.
Two subspecies are recognised, but not by all authors. L. n. culminator is said to be larger, with greener wing and tail plumage. Its secondary remiges are also glossy on both vanes, i.e. not matt black on the inner vanes as in L. n. phoenicopterus.
He used the French name Le merle verd d'Angola and the Latin Merula Viridis Angolensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 4 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 6 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 11 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 12 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 13 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 14 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monkeyland | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Birds of Eden | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-shouldered Glossy-starling sighting in Gonarezhou National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 168th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Red-shouldered Glossy-starling in Gonarezhou National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, July and October, the lowest months. That is one of Gonarezhou National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 150 mm in January. March–April, June and December–January have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-shouldered Glossy-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.
13th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Red-shouldered Glossy-starling sightings, Gonarezhou National Park ranks 13th at about 10%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 70%), Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (South Africa, about 70%) and Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Lamprotornis
The closest relatives of the Red-shouldered Glossy-starling that you can see in Gonarezhou National Park (genus Lamprotornis, Glossy Starlings and Allies) are Meves's Glossy-starling (about 80%) and Greater Blue-eared Starling (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-shouldered Glossy-starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Gonarezhou National Park (12 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.
