Notopholia corrusca
In 3 days <5%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-bellied Starling sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 382nd most-seen of the 464 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-bellied Starling in Kruger National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Black-bellied Starling sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 40%), 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 Kruger National Park (family Sturnidae, Starlings) are Greater Blue-eared Starling (about 50%), Burchell's Glossy-starling (about 40%) and Red-shouldered Glossy-starling (about 40%), 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 Kruger National Park (23 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.
