Rüppell's Glossy-starling

Rüppell's Glossy-starling

Lamprotornis purpuroptera

Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely
at Serengeti National Park

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

1,951 Verified sightings at Serengeti National Park From 2019 to 2026
10,076 In all 22 parks
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Rüppell's Glossy-starling

Rüppell's starling (Lamprotornis purpuroptera), also known as Rueppell's glossy-starling or Rueppell's long-tailed starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in the African countries of Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:22

Kenya · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1178429 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song1:00

Uganda · 2026

© Phil Shaw · XC1172447 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Subsong0:23

Kenya · 2022

© Alexander Schlatmann · XC748260 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~80%
2 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~70%
3 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~70%
4 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~60%
5 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~60%
6 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
7 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
8 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
9 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~40%
10 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
11 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~30%
12 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
13 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
14 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
15 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
16 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
17 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
18 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
19 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
20 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
21 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
22 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~50%
2 Bujumbura 🇧🇮 Burundi
~30%
3 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Rüppell's Glossy-starling in Serengeti National Park?

Likely

About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Rüppell's Glossy-starling sighting in Serengeti National Park on a given day, based on 1,951 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 469 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Rüppell's Glossy-starling in Serengeti National Park?

April, June–July and December

In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Rüppell's Glossy-starling in Serengeti National Park on a given day, against about 40% in January–February, May and November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Rüppell's Glossy-starling?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rüppell's 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.

Which relatives of the Rüppell's Glossy-starling live in Serengeti National Park?

Same genus: Lamprotornis

The closest relatives of the Rüppell's Glossy-starling that you can see in Serengeti National Park (genus Lamprotornis, Glossy Starlings and Allies) are Superb Starling (about 70%) and Hildebrandt's Starling (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Rüppell's Glossy-starling sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Rüppell's Glossy-starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Serengeti National Park (1,951 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.

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