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A slim, vocal canopy starling that flies in coordinated flocks, seen from the Kilembe gate up to Cathy Waterfalls.
The adult appears all black in the field (blue-black in good light) with brown eyes and a very narrow, pale-yellow eye-ring. The female is dark slate-grey with chestnut primaries; the immature is like a dull female.
Very vocal, especially in flight, when it calls a simple but musical "tuweeet".
Common in the canopy of highland forests in the west from 1,500 m to 2,600 m, also in the Tugen Hills of Kenya. In our area they are seen a bit higher, from 1,725 m to 3,100 m — from the Kilembe Park gate up to Cathy Waterfalls near Kihalo Camp.
Eats a wide range of food including insects, seeds and fruit. In the Park it uses Polyscias fulva and Macaranga kilimandscharica fruit, sharing with Sharpe's and Slender-billed Starlings.
Breeds mid-April to May, laying 4–6 glossy pale-blue eggs in a natural or artificial cavity; eggs hatch in about two weeks and young fledge after three more, with one or two broods a year.
Flocks move in tightly coordinated flight, each bird matching its seven nearest neighbours. The community also reads their comings and goings as a sign of the changing seasons.
Our guides know where to find it along the Kilembe Trail. Let us build a trek around the birds you most want to see.