Purple Starling (Lamprotornis purpureus)
About the Purple Starling
The purple starling (Lamprotornis purpureus), also known as the purple glossy starling, is a member of the starling family of birds. It is a resident breeder in tropical Africa from Senegal and north Zaire east to Sudan and west Kenya. This common passerine is typically found in open woodland and cultivation. The adults of these stocky 22–23 cm long birds have a metallic purple head and body, and glossy green wings. They have a short tail and a yellow eye. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are much duller, with grey underparts and a brown iris. This is a gregarious and noisy bird, with typical starling squeaks and chattering. The purple starling builds a nest in a hole. The normal clutch is two eggs. Like most starlings, the purple starling is omnivorous, eating fruit and insects.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 12 recordings for this species: 1 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Golden-breasted StarlingLamprotornis regiusrecording
- Superb StarlingLamprotornis superbusrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.