Lamprotornis nitens
Silhouette: Rafael Maia · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Cape starling (Lamprotornis nitens), also known as red-shouldered glossy-starling or Cape glossy starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Southern Africa, where it lives in woodlands, bushveld and in suburbs.
Two subspecies are recognised, but not by all authors. L. n. culminator is said to be larger, with greener wing and tail plumage. Its secondary remiges are also glossy on both vanes, i.e. not matt black on the inner vanes as in L. n. phoenicopterus.
He used the French name Le merle verd d'Angola and the Latin Merula Viridis Angolensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766, the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 4 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 6 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 11 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 12 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 13 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 14 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 15 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monkeyland | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Birds of Eden | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Red-shouldered Glossy-starling sighting in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, based on 111 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 118 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.
September and November–January
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Red-shouldered Glossy-starling in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, against about 50% in February and August, the lowest months. Those are among Waterberg Plateau Park's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain a month against almost none in May. April and June have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-shouldered Glossy-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 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Red-shouldered Glossy-starling sightings, Waterberg Plateau Park ranks 5th at about 60%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 70%), Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (South Africa, about 70%) and Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 70%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-shouldered Glossy-starling is recorded against all the birds logged in Waterberg Plateau Park (111 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.
