Narrow-tailed starling
# Narrow-tailed starling

The narrow-tailed starling (Poeoptera lugubris) is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in West and Central Africa from Sierra Leone to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

## Description

The male is dark blue and the female is dark gray with chestnut-colored patches on the wings, visible in flight. Both sexes have long, narrow tails. Not a very noisy bird, this starling's vocalizations include shrill chirps, cries, and whistles.

## Habitat

Its habitat is the canopy of lowland forest, making use of secondary forest and forest clearings.

## Diet

It eats mostly fruit, and sometimes insects or seeds.

## Behaviour

These starlings form flocks of 10-30 or more birds, and sometimes will mix with other fruit-eating birds. This bird is a colony-nester, making its nest high up in dead trees in holes originally excavated by colonial cavity-nesting barbets, sometimes with both birds nesting in close proximity. Eggs are pale blue-gray with brown spots.

