Lamprotornis nitens
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
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 |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Red-shouldered Glossy-starling sighting in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, based on 386 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April, June, October and December
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Red-shouldered Glossy-starling in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, against about 60% in January–March, July, September and November, the lowest months.
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.
Among the best
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Red-shouldered Glossy-starling sightings, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park ranks 2nd at about 70%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Sturnidae
The closest relatives of the Red-shouldered Glossy-starling that you can see in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (family Sturnidae, Starlings) are Red-winged Starling (about 30%), Violet-backed Starling (about 20%) and Black-bellied Starling (about 20%), 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 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (386 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.
