Lamprotornis purpuroptera
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 10 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 11 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 12 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 15 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 16 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 17 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 18 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 19 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 20 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 21 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 22 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rüppell's Glossy-starling sighting in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 223rd most-seen of the 345 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Rüppell's Glossy-starling in Tsavo East National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, April, July–August and October–November, the lowest months. That is one of Tsavo East National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 130 mm in November.
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.
15th of 22
Of the 22 parks where we can rate Rüppell's Glossy-starling sightings, Tsavo East National Park ranks 15th at under 5%. The best odds are in Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda, about 80%), Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 70%) and Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Lamprotornis
The closest relatives of the Rüppell's Glossy-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 Golden-breasted Starling (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rüppell's Glossy-starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo East National Park (29 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.
