List of Southern African Birds - Starlings and Oxpeckers

Starlings and Oxpeckers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae (including Buphaginae, sometimes deemed a distinct family)

Starlings and oxpeckers are small to medium-sized passerines with strong feet and pointed bills. Their flight is strong and direct, and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat ranges from dry open to moist wooded country, and they may feed on insects, fruit or ticks. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen. There are 125 species worldwide, sixteen in Southern Africa.

  • Pale-winged Starling Onychognathus nabouroup
  • Red-winged Starling Onychognathus morio
  • Black-bellied Glossy Starling Lamprotornis corruscus
  • Cape Glossy Starling Lamprotornis nitens
  • Greater Blue-eared Starling Lamprotornis chalybaeus
  • Southern Blue-eared Glossy-starling Lamprotornis elisabeth
  • Sharp-tailed Glossy-starling Lamprotornis acuticaudus
  • Burchell's Starling Lamprotornis australis
  • Meves's Starling Lamprotornis mevesii
  • Violet-backed Starling Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
  • Pied Starling Spreo bicolor
  • Wattled Starling Creatophora cinerea
  • Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris introduced
  • Common Myna Acridotheres tristis introduced
  • Yellow-billed Oxpecker Buphagus africanus
  • Red-billed Oxpecker Buphagus erythrorhynchus

Read more about this topic:  List Of Southern African Birds