Magpie Starling Speculipastor bicolor

An unusual and distinctive starling of dry country. Males are dark above and white below, with a blue-black hood and upperparts; females are dark gray. Both sexes have an orange eye and white patches in the wings that are conspicuous in flight. Found in dry thorn savanna, thorn scrub, and woodland, usually in flocks which wander erratically. The song is a continuous jumble of scratchy notes and whistles. The most common call is a harsh “chek.”