Cotman watercolours tubes, Faber Castel Pastel pencils on Saunders Waterford 300gsm 310×230 Cotton Satiné High White paper

The Purple Starling (Lamprotornis purpureus) had been on my list to paint for a while. I was curious if that shiny green/purple glow could also be expressed with watercolor. When I recently came across it at the zoo, I took a few photos of it and started working on those photos. I am very satisfied with it.

I think our (European) starling is already quite beautiful, especially when the sun shines just right on it and the plumage is at its best. But it is an ‘ordinary’ starling compared to other family members. For example, this Purple starling (Lamprotornis purpureus) with shiny feathers that turn blue-green and violet in the light. And that beautiful yellow iris in that dark mask on its head complete the bird!

At 27 cm, it is a bit larger than our native starling, which comes out at about 21 centimeters. In terms of vocals, they are not really good singers. They produce some scratchy and whistling tones. His European brother is doing better. In addition to hours of twittering, our starling can also very well imitate other birds, for example the beautiful singing of the oriole with the curls in the notes.

This species occurs in the savannas of Africa and lives there in the forests and trees near riverbanks, but also in more urban areas. The food consists mainly of fruits, insects and seeds. During the breeding season they live as a pair. They have their nest in tree hollows, where two to three eggs appear in the nest at a time. After the breeding season, they move around in groups, but not as massively as our starling.

It is not endangered and is also kept as a cage bird.