Lamprotornis chloropterus
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling sighting in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 136th most-seen of the 215 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling in Niokolo-Koba National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, the lowest month. That is one of Niokolo-Koba National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 300 mm in August. May–July and October have too few records to rate.
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.
5th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Lesser Blue-eared Glossy-starling sightings, Niokolo-Koba National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. 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 Niokolo-Koba National Park (genus Lamprotornis, Glossy Starlings and Allies) are Long-tailed Glossy Starling (about 90%), Purple Glossy-Starling (about 70%) and Bronze-tailed 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 Niokolo-Koba National Park (34 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.
