Lamprotornis chloropterus
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The lesser blue-eared starling or lesser blue-eared glossy-starling (Lamprotornis chloropterus) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The lesser blue-eared starling was formally described in 1838 by the English zoologist William Swainson under the current binomial name Lamprotornis chloropterus based on a specimen collected in West Africa. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek χλωρος/khlōros meaning "yellow" with -πτερος/-pteros meaning "-winged".
Two subspecies are recognised: The subspecies L. c. elisabeth has sometimes been considered as a separate species, the Miombo blue-eared starling. During the non-breeding... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 4 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 6 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 7 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 9 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 10 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Maiduguri | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 3 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 4 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 5 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoo Lagos | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling sighting in Hwange National Park on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 225th most-seen of the 308 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.
September and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling in Hwange National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–August and October–November, the lowest months. Those are among Hwange National Park's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Blue-eared 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.
8th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling sightings, Hwange National Park ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mikumi National Park (Tanzania, about 40%), Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 30%) and Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 10%).
Same genus: Lamprotornis
The closest relatives of the Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling that you can see in Hwange National Park (genus Lamprotornis, Glossy Starlings and Allies) are Meves's Glossy-starling (about 30%), Greater Blue-eared Starling (about 30%) and Red-shouldered Glossy-starling (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Hwange National Park (16 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.
