Copper-tailed Starling Hylopsar cupreocauda Scientific name definitions

18 cm; 51–66 g. Fairly small, dark starling with shortish tail. Crown and nape are turquoise blue with purple sheen, mantle, back and wing turquoise blue, rump and tail glossy bronze; chin, throat and upper breast purple, passing into turquoise blue on lower breast, belly and flanks; undertail-coverts matt charcoal, some feathers with violet tips; iris yellow; bill and legs black. Sexes alike. Juvenile is matt charcoal-grey, some gloss on wings and tail, iris initially dark.

Sierra Leone, SE Guinea, Liberia, S Ivory Coast and S Ghana.

Primary lowland evergreen forest, including forest edge and gallery forest; observed also in logged forest, plantations and areas of shifting cultivation in forest zone.

Presumed resident.

Diet insects and fruit, latter including Ficus and Rauwolfia. Forages chiefly in canopy; searches for insects also in middle storey of forest. In pairs and small groups; occasionally joins mixed-species flocks of insectivores.

Song described as a jumble of harsh notes. Flight calls harsh, grating notes.

On basis of activity at nest-holes and presence of juveniles, season Oct–Dec in Sierra Leone and Liberia, Nov and Jan in Ivory Coast and Aug in Ghana. Nest in hole up to 15 m above ground in tree, apparently favouring dead emergent or relict trees. Adult observed accompanied by three fledglings. No other information.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near-threatened. Generally common to not uncommon; probably declining. Density of 2–4 pairs/km² recorded in mature forest in Liberia. In Ivory Coast, abundant in Taï Forest National Park, and quite common in 1980s in Yapo Forest; recently noted as being fairly common in Mt Péko National Park. Appears common and widespread in Ghana, but only small flocks of 5–10 individuals observed in recent surveys. Restricted to Upper Guinea forests of W Africa, where deforestation continues throughout range. Civil war and political instability have compromised the security of forest reserves in the region.