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Figures1,2. Two views of a SuperbStarling atPompano Beach, Browasd County, Florida on 21 July 2007. This bird, perhaps one of a pair,often sang and built a nestin a nativepalm m a shoppingcenter parkinglot. It shared this habitat with, among others, afamily of Gray Kingbirds (Tyrannus dominicensis), anesting pair of Common Mynas (Acridotheres tristis], and a female-plumaged bishop(Euplectes spp.]--afairly typical scene in southeastern FloridaS urban jungle. Photographs byBillœranly.
Abstract 100. One of the most recent exotics to be doc- familygroups of 20 or morebirds may be This paper digestsall known reportsand umentedin Floridais SuperbStarling (Lam- found year-round(Feare and Craig 1998). recordsof SuperbStarling (Lamprotornis su- protornissuperbus, sometimes placed in the The adult is distinctive with its black head, perbus)in Florida,including a documented genusSpreo), the subject of thisnote (Figures glossybluish nape and upperparts,glossy nestingin BrowardCounty. 1, 2). bluish-greenwings, tail with boldly black- SuperbStarling, one of 21 "glossystar- tippeduppertail coverts, and white undertail 0ventiew lings," is a monotypicspecies common in coverts;a starkwhite breastband separates Florida•s the exouc avifauna capital of North partsof Ethiopia,Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, the glossybluish-black breast from the rusty America,with more than 200 speciesreport- Tanzania,and Uganda (Feare and Craig 1998, belly.The bill, legs,and feet are blackish gray, ed outsideof captivity,and with nearlyfour Clements2000). It is generallyfound in arid and the iridesare whitishand conspicuous "new" speciesreported annually (Pranty countrysuch as thorn scrub,but it ventures againstthe blackface. The sexesare similar, 2004). Through2003, 97 speciesof exotic to the Kenyacoast and •s alsofound •n gar- but the male's breast band is said to be wider birdshad beendocumented in the stateby dens and other cultivatedhabitats (Feare and than the female's.Juveniles have non-glossy archivedspecimen or photographicevidence Craig1998). Superb Starlings are cooperative plumage,dark irides,a pale yellowbill. and (Pranty2004), andthis number now exceeds breeders(Rubenstein and kovette 2007), and lackthe breast band (Feare and Craig1998).
656 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS RECORDS-OFSUPERBSTARLING INFLORIDA 1
Table1. Recent reports ofSuperb Starlings inBroward County, Florida. The three birds photographed dunng2007 may represent thefirst documented recordsof Superb Starling out- sidethe species' native range ineast-central Africa. Date(s) City Comments Observer{s) 21Jul 2003 Hollywood Oneat North Beach Park B.Roberts ca.Jun 2004 Hollywood Onenear the greyhound racetrack D.Bogos 13Jul 2004 Hollywood Onealong Hallandale Beach Boulevard westof the Intracoastal Waterway D. Bogos ca.1 Dec 2004 Hollywood Onenear US-1 and Washington Street C.Chinelly Two(one banded, theother unbanded) thought tobe nesting along ca.2005-8 Sep 2007 Hollywood HallandaleBeach Boulevard eastof the Intracoastal Waterway; birds L Manfredi,RCunningham, J.Steel et al.; photographs ofboth birds hadbeen present "2-3 years" 7Jul-lSep 2007 PompanoBeach AtlanticOne (unbanded),Boulevard possiblyeastofUS-1two, building anest inacabbage palmalong D.Howard, B.Roberts, E. J.Reed, B. Pranty, photographs ofone bird
SuperbStarlings in underparts,and white breastband. Prior to LongmanHouse, Essex. captivityano in Florida 2007,all of the sightingsof SuperbStarlings Long,J. L. 1981.Introduced Birds of theWorld. Owing to their stunningplumage, Superb wereof singlebirds seen once each at various ReedProprietary Limited, Sydney, Starlingsare widely found in animalexhibits sitesin Hollywood.During 2007, evidence of Pranty,B. 2004. Florida'sexotic avifauna:a and aviculture.In mid-2007, more than 120 breeding(or at leastnest-building) was ob- preliminarychecklist. Birding 36: 362-372. SuperbStarlings were held in 36 registered servedat Hollywoodand PompanoBeach. Rubenstein,D. R., and 1. J. Lovette. 2007. exhibitsin the United Statesand Canada,in- The Hollywoodlocation contained two terri- Temporalenvironmental variability drives cludingtwo exhibits in Florida:one female at torialbirds suspected of nestingin a Coconut the evolutionof cooperativebreeding in Disney'sAnimal Kingdom and four starlings Palm (Cocosnucifera), while at Pompano birds.Current Biology 17: 1414-1419. (oneadult of unknownsex and one pair with Beach,one or two starlingswere observed SFS [Softbills For Sale]. 2007. Advertise- their juvenile) at Miami MetroZoo(1SIS singingand buildinga nest.The nest,ob- ments.
VOLUME 61 (2007) ß NUMBER 4 657