Lamprotornis regius
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The golden-breasted starling (Lamprotornis regius), also known as royal starling, is a medium-sized passerine in the starling family. Lamprotornis regius magnificus (van Someren, 1924) Lamprotornis regius regius (Reichenow, 1879)
The golden-breasted starling has a very large range. It is distributed in Northeastern Africa, from Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and northern Tanzania. These birds inhabit the grassland, savannah, the thickets of acacias, dry-thorn forests and shrubland.
Widespread throughout its habitat range, the population trend of the golden-breasted starling appears to be stable. The species is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Lamprotornis regius can reach a body length of about 35 cm (14 in). The adult has a metallic green head and upper back, bright golden yellow breast and belly, dark bill and legs, white iris and metallic violet blue on wings, back, neck and its long tail feathers. Both sexes are similar. The young are duller than the adult.
The golden-breasted starling is a social animal, living in groups of... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 5 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Denver Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Milwaukee County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Dallas Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Phoenix Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Toledo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Louisville Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 19 | Woodland Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 20 | Calgary Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 21 | Fort Worth Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 22 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Memphis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 24 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Honolulu Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 27 | Attica Zoological Park | 🇬🇷 Greece | |
| 28 | Ueno Zoo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 29 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 30 | Green World Ecological Farm | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 31 | Riverbanks Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | Lincoln Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 33 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 34 | Krefelder Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 35 | Reid Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 36 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 37 | Birds of Eden | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 38 | Penang Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 39 | Randers Tropical Zoo | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 40 | National Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 41 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 42 | Bird Kingdom | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-breasted Starling sighting in Meru National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 94th most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-breasted Starling in Meru National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January–February and June, the lowest months. That is one of Meru National Park's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain against almost none in July. May and July–August have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Golden-breasted 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.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Golden-breasted Starling sightings, Meru National Park ranks 5th at about 20%. The best odds are in Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 60%), Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 30%) and Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Lamprotornis
The closest relatives of the Golden-breasted Starling that you can see in Meru National Park (genus Lamprotornis, Glossy Starlings and Allies) are Superb Starling (about 90%), Rüppell's Glossy-starling (about 30%) and Greater Blue-eared Starling (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Golden-breasted Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Meru National Park (28 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.
