What's In A Name II ? - Superb Starlings

Masai Mara National Reserve

A name can say a lot when it fits well and that was just the case with the Superb Starling that pretty much made me stand up in my seat when I first saw their kind in Masai Mara. Humans have often given birds funny and nonsensical names and some so called discoverers have even attached their family names to the poor beasts like I’ve said in many of my posts here but this bird’s name absolutely lives up to its persona and more so for people who have not encountered birds that have reflective feathers before. The Superb Starling was the first bird that I met with iridescent feathers and you can just imagine the shock and awe that this species caused for me cause I had never even imagined the possibility of the existence of such life forms. Meeting these guys was also my introduction to Starlings in general and as I wrote in “Reflective, Metallic, Colour Morphing Birds.” Africa introduced me to this trait that many bird species found there and in Europe exhibit and there can be no doubt as to why these guys are called Starlings once you see em. It’s my opinion that the subsequent discovery of related species like the Chestnut Tailed Starlings of my home state of Assam may have forced a change in the justification used for the use of the name in the first place but we have to remember that the name was used first in locations where the birds do exhibit this trait like I said in “What’s In A Name I ?” These birds make your jaw drop the first time you see them and the name suits them perfectly because they are simply Superb to encounter. There’s just no getting around that if you’re looking at visual uniqueness in any beast on the planet. They’re a sight alright and the unsung heroes of any Safari trip to Africa that the usual marketing machine selling the Big Cats hasn’t gotten to yet and especially for visitors from Asia who are just never exposed to this trait in wildlife at home.

Ive written about how these guys do the reflection thing in “Reflective, Metallic, Colour Morphing Birds” and their reflection of light makes these guys hard to miss when they’re out and about in the daytime. There aren’t many trees around for cover in that landscape in the first place and it’s not unusual to find them below or perched on one of the few acacia trees that are scattered in the landscape of East Africa where they are found. Tall grass would be the easiest cover for these guys when needed, but they are ground feeders who prefer a diet of insects like grasshoppers, termites, ants, flies, gain, fruits and small berries.

They’re medium sized birds that can get up to 19 cms in length and like most Starlings in general and also the animals of the African Savannah, they aren’t intimidated by safari vehicles inside the reserve as you can see in the photos here. They aren’t in any hurry usually and are easy to photograph with Aperture Priority. One of my guys in the pics here is on the road and using a puddle created by vehicles to cool off on a hot summer afternoon. Starlings are bold by nature generally but I’m certain that they might not behave the same way on the edges of the reserve where human traffic is a lot heavier but then that’s why I always recommend staying a couple of hours inside the reserves in Africa for the best experience if you’re travelling across continents for that experience in the first place. The animals who you’re there to see are a lot more at ease far inside and usually don’t look at human presence with disdain or fear in their eyes. I was not very interested in birds when I went to Masai Mara but returned with a fascination for them that matched the one for mammals. I guess that you just cannot develop an interest if you don’t have exposure in the first place and I’m living example of how a little exposure can lead to learning that makes you piece together your place in life on this planet for yourself. Every different habitat can teach you new things about your place, but you just must get to the exposure somehow just like how Africa exposed me to these metallic looking birds which were beyond my wildest fantasies.

These guys are social birds who usually live in flocks that practise a cooperative breeding strategy. Their flocks can have up to 40 individual birds, split halfway between the genders. The immature and immigrant adults among the flock members act as helpers who protect the nests, gather food and feed the chicks. Females of this species are as brightly coloured as the males because they must actively compete in this complex social structure. These guys are also exceptional audio mimics and well adept at letting their feelings be known given their complex living situation. A single flock utilizes a distinct dialect containing over 82 unique phrases which imitate other bird species, environmental sounds and sharp predator warning signals. Being ground feeders, they utilize the “Gaping” feeding mechanism where they leverage powerful, specialized jaw muscles to insert their closed beaks directly into the soil or leaf litter and force them open. This then creates space to reveal hidden insects, termites and grubs.

Our sightings of the species were always limited to one individual at a time and of those, I had the best light for my guy or girl Superb Starling who isn't on the puddle in the images here. I remember this one being so close that the light reflecting off his / her feathers was literally making me squint while framing my images. I haven’t tried to change that in the post process of the images cause well, that’s what was so special about this sighting for me at the time. Meeting this species, honestly is up there with being a few feet away from a wild Tiger for the first time as far as wildlife experiences are concerned for me and one of my fondest moments with this hobby. I honestly don’t think that I would have ever gotten into birds at all if I hadn’t met these guys in the Mara. I guess that’s just how Superb this guy is and Im very glad that it all went down like it did and I returned with a whole new perspective and interest.

These guys don’t do the murmurations that I wrote about in “Aerial Ballet Dancers”. They’re non migratory Starlings who have evolved to develop cooperative breeding flocks instead of the migratory flocks that other Starlings like the Chestnut Tailed Starlings whom I wrote about in “What’s In A Name – I?” live in. Superb Starlings are socially monogamous birds which basically means that although they do form pair bonds within their societies, they are not sexually monogamous always. Extra pair matings within the species accounts for 10 – 15 % of the fertilizations and females of the species are known to mate with other males in the flock to recruit help in their cooperative breeding lifestyle. These secondary males bring extra food to the nest and help increase the life expectancy of the female’s offspring. Male offsprings from a pair’s previous brood also help with the feeding and guarding of the young. Females of the species usually lay a clutch of 2 to 4 eggs which then take about 12 days to hatch. Once the eggs hatch, both parents along with their group helpers work together to feed the chicks. The chicks then leave the nests anywhere between 17 and 25 days but being cooperative breeders, they do not go very far initially. All chicks stay around their natal territory for another 9 weeks or so as they learn the ways of the Superb Starlings after which the females leave to find a new flock to avoid inbreeding and the males usually stay with their birth flocks for life.

You probably can tell by now that meeting this species was a complete WTF moment for me and it pretty much opened up a whole new avenue within my interest in wildlife for me which I’m very thankful for. Birds can be confusing at the start of the journey into understanding them but it’s this very same complexity that caused the muck ups with their names for the people on the same journey as us a few hundred years ago as well. The Superb Starling though, carries a name that fits very well and highlights the speciality of the species. It’s taken me four posts on here to try to explain the complex lives of Starlings and that itself says it all for me really. Like in the case of the Babblers, I’d put off writing about these guys simply because all the pieces of the puzzle surrounding these guys weren’t available. I’m also certain that this in no way is the end of the other unique stories that the members of this family may bring out as I find other members of the family for my images. The complexity surrounding the name and look though, seems to be sorted for now and I’m glad that I’ve worked that much out at least. Let’s see what they bring next.

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