Meves's Starling

Open encyclopedia reference

Meves's starling (Lamprotornis mevesii), also Meves's glossy starling and Long-tailed starling, is a species of starling in the genus Lamprotornis. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its English and Latin names commemorate the German ornithologist Friedrich Wilhelm Meves. It is 30–36 cm long, with a very long tail; in dull light coloured black, but in bright light, with moderate to intensely strong iridescent gloss. It can be distinguished from the similar Burchell's starling by its longer tail with strongly graduated feathers (the central pair of tail feathers the longest, with subsequent pairs of feathers shorter to the outermost), and from other long-tailed species of Lamprotornis by its dark eyes. Three subspecies are accepted: Lamprotornis mevesii benguelensis Shelley, 1906 — southwestern Angola (Angola Escarpment). Duller and browner, less glossy on the body and tail than the other subspecies. Lamprotornis mevesii violacior Clancey, 1973 — northern Namibia and south-central Angola. Dark, violet-purple glossed.

Wikipedia contributors, Meves's starling; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:28:07.382889+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Lamprotornis mevesii (Wahlberg, 1856)

Name authority

(Wahlberg, 1856)

Common name

Meves's Starling

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Sturnidae

Genus

Lamprotornis

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPasseriformes
10. familySturnidae Rafinesque, 1815
11. genusLamprotornis Temminck, 1820
12. speciesLamprotornis mevesii (Wahlberg, 1856)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Lamprotornis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 103 records assigned to Sturnidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560681 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3S5QV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.