Violet-backed starling | |
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Male | |
Female both C. l. verreauxi Damaraland, Namibia | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Sturnidae |
Genus: | Cinnyricinclus Lesson, 1840 |
Species: | C. leucogaster
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Binomial name | |
Cinnyricinclus leucogaster (Boddaert, 1783)
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Synonyms[2] | |
Turdus leucogaster Boddaert, 1783 |
The violet-backed starling (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster), also known as the plum-coloured starling or amethyst starling, or Ndambamukula in the Luvenḓa (Venḓa) language, is a relatively small species (17 cm) of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is the only member of the genus Cinnyricinclus. This strongly sexually dimorphic species is found widely in the woodlands and savannah forest edges of mainland sub-Saharan Africa. It is rarely seen on the ground, but instead found in trees and other locations away from the ground.