Wattled Starling

This is the only African starling which appears to show affinities with the Asian starlings, particularly the Sturnus genus. Its bare face patches and ability to open-bill feed in grassland are unique amongst African starlings. It is the only member of the genus Creatophora.

The Wattled Starling is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

The Wattled Starling, Creatophora cinerea, is a nomadic resident in eastern and southern Africa. It is a species of grassland, open woodland and cultivation. This is the only African starling which appears to show affinities with the Asian starlings, particularly the Sturnus genus. Its bare face patches and ability to open-bill feed in grassland are unique amongst African starlings. It is the only member of the genus Creatophora. More

The Wattled Starling is 21 cm long, with a short tail and pointed wings. It has mainly grey plumage except for a white rump, and black flight feathers and tail. The breeding male has a white shoulder patch and a distinctive head pattern, with unfeathered yellow skin, and black forehead and throat wattles. More

Wattled starling in non-breeding plumage, Niewoudtville, South Africa. Creatophora cinerea (Wattled starling) Creatophora cinerea (Wattled starling) Wattled starling. Wattled starlings, just south of Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa. Distribution and habitat Occurs from Ethiopia and Kenya through Tanzania, southern DRC and Zambia to southern Africa. More

The Wattled Starling is a Southern African bird that belongs to the Sturnidae bird family group which includes birds such as Starlings, Mynans, Oxpeckers. The description for the Wattled Starling (Latin name Creatophora cinerea) can be found in the 7th Edition of the Roberts Birds of Southern Africa. The Creatophora cinerea can be quickly identified by its unique Roberts identification number of 760 and the detailed description of this bird is on page 970. More

I spotted a handful Wattled Starlings on a nearby tree in non-breeding plumage but he vehemently refused that those were not the birds. We went on to ask an elderly man grazing his cattle if he knew and had seen the birds and to his shocking surprise he confided that in a split of time it appeared the birds had vanished. We came to a poisoning site and stumbled on the carcass of a mature male wattled starling in breeding plumage concealed in a grass tuft. More

a picture of the Wattled Starling on page 976. The Wattled Starling belongs to the family of birds classified as Sturnidae. Click the image to see an interesting picture of a large flock of Wattled starlings seen close to Mopani camp on Tropic of Capricorn Loop. In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Wattled Starling was called the The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. More

They were more than 50 wattled starling up in the tree near black rock. This flocks flew up in a tree after the herds of buffaloes saw us and started to run.There were approximately more than 300 buffaloes together in the herd.We stopped and have a look for these birds. It was amazing to see them together making unmusical squeaks.Most of them had extensive yellow and black skin and wattles on the head,these were breeding males. More

Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea) on an African Buffalo. Adult Wattled Starling, Creatophora cinerea, not a breeding male, on the back of an African Buffalo, Amboseli NP, Kenya. Date June 22, 2007. Author Jerry Friedman (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:JerryFriedman). Copyright (C) 2007 Jerry Friedman Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. More

African buffalo resting, with wattled starling on backAfrican buffalo resting, with wattled starling on back© Gerard Lacz / www.flpa-images.co.uk To include a portlet-style image link, please: Copy to clipboard icon Copy the code in the box below. Paste from clipboard icon Paste it into your page code. @import "http://www.arkive.org/styles/portletng2.css"; African buffalo resting, with wattled starling on backGerard Lacz / www.flpa-images.co. More

Videos and images previous African buffalo imageAfrican buffalo resting, with wattled starling on back © Gerard Lacz / www.flpa-images.co. More