Notopholia corrusca
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The black-bellied starling (Notopholia corusca) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae, originally described by zoologist Alexander von Nordmann in 1835. It is found in Eswatini, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Their iris color changes by mood or behavior due to fluctuations in blood flow rates. Black-bellied (glossy) starling – Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Zanzibar City | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black-bellied Starling sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 888 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 351 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Black-bellied Starling in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against about 30% in August and September, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-bellied 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.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Black-bellied Starling sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 40%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Sturnidae
The closest relatives of the Black-bellied Starling that you can see in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (family Sturnidae, Starlings) are Violet-backed Starling (about 20%) and Red-shouldered Glossy-starling (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-bellied Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (888 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.
