Scientific name: Lamprotornis chalybaeus
Here it is locally common in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa, extending into northern Botswana and Namibia. It generally prefers open savanna woodland with dense undergrowth, such as Mopane (Colosphermum mopane) and Acacia.
This starling is glossy blue-green with a purple-blue belly and blue ear patch. Its iris is bright yellow or orange. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is duller and has blackish brown underparts.
(The lesser blue-eared starling is similar to this species, but the blue of the belly does not extend forward of the legs.)
It eats a variety of insects, fruit and small invertebrates, foraging in trees and on the ground.
