Golden-breasted Starling

Golden-breasted Starling

Lamprotornis regius

Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~60% · Likely
at Tsavo East National Park

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

509 Verified sightings at Tsavo East National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,142 In all 5 parks
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Golden-breasted Starling

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 →

Sounds

Call0:10

Ethiopia · 2015

© Andrew Spencer · XC210321 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:38

Kenya · 2015

© Simon Carter · XC263776 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:13

Kenya · 2011

© James Bradley · XC72988 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~60%
2 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
3 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
4 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
5 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 San Diego Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 National Zoological Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
4 Basel Zoo 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
5 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
6 Denver Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
7 Zoo Miami 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
8 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
9 Sedgwick County Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
10 Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
11 Milwaukee County Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
12 Dallas Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
13 Phoenix Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
14 Toledo Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
16 Louisville Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
17 Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
18 Berlin Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
19 Woodland Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
20 Calgary Zoo 🇨🇦 Canada In captivity
21 Fort Worth Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
22 Oregon Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
23 Memphis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
24 San Antonio Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
25 Philadelphia Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
26 Honolulu Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
27 Attica Zoological Park 🇬🇷 Greece In captivity
28 Ueno Zoo 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
29 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
30 Green World Ecological Farm 🇹🇼 Taiwan In captivity
31 Riverbanks Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
32 Lincoln Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
33 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
34 Krefelder Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
35 Reid Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
36 World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
37 Birds of Eden 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
38 Penang Bird Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia In captivity
39 Randers Tropical Zoo 🇩🇰 Denmark In captivity
40 National Aviary 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
41 Aquarium Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
42 Bird Kingdom 🇨🇦 Canada In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Golden-breasted Starling in Tsavo East National Park?

Likely

About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-breasted Starling sighting in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, based on 509 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 9th most-seen of the 345 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 Golden-breasted Starling in Tsavo East National Park?

July and September

In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Golden-breasted Starling in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, against about 40% in June, the lowest month. Those are among Tsavo East National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 130 mm in November.

What time of day is best to see a Golden-breasted Starling?

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.

Is Tsavo East National Park the best place to see a Golden-breasted Starling?

Yes

Of the 5 parks where we can rate Golden-breasted Starling sightings, Tsavo East National Park has the highest daily chance: about 60%. Next come Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 30%) and Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 30%). All parks ranked.

Which relatives of the Golden-breasted Starling live in Tsavo East National Park?

Same genus: Lamprotornis

The closest relatives of the Golden-breasted Starling that you can see in Tsavo East National Park (genus Lamprotornis, Glossy Starlings and Allies) are Superb Starling (about 70%), Fischer's Starling (about 60%) and Hildebrandt's Starling (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Golden-breasted Starling sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Golden-breasted Starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo East National Park (509 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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