The
Cape starling (
Lamprotornis nitens) is a medium-sized
passerine bird in the
starling family, Sturnidae, found in southern Africa. It is a gregarious bird and forms large flocks outside the breeding season. It usually feeds on the ground, often foraging alongside other species of
starlings. Habituated to humans, its diet includes fruit, insects and nectar. It sometimes feeds on
ectoparasites that it picks off the backs of animals or visits
bird tables for scraps. This Cape starling, of the subspecies
L. n. phoenicopterus, was photographed in
Damaraland, Namibia.
Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp