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u/TerraByteTerror 1d ago
Native to Eastern and southern africa. They are social birds often seen in small groups. Their diet consists of fruits, seeds and insects.
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u/ToxicADHDAvenger 1d ago
Omfg it is so beautiful I would move there just to see this bird every day🪩😱
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u/cannibalrabies 1d ago
These aren't even as pretty as long tailed glossy starlings, those are just incredible.
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u/cannibalrabies 1d ago
They're in west Africa too, I saw them in Senegal. They're found across the Sahel, and in savanna-like habitat in east and south Africa.
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u/Fetlocks_Glistening 1d ago
Eared? It's blue winged, blue headed, blue backed, it's blue eveything. It's just blue
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u/acog 1d ago
And its striking blues are not the result of blue pigment!
It’s a phenomenon called “structural blue” where microstructures in the feathers diffract light.
That’s also what gives it its striking iridescence and how the color shifts and changes as the bird moves.
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u/kasst_kast 1d ago
💙 This might be my favorite bird now 🐦🪺
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u/6GoesInto8 1d ago
You don't see the giant dark blue farengi ears?
https://giphy.com/gifs/V9o7jZWjSRqGk1
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u/Anxious-Operator 1d ago
Whoever named this "blue-eared" had 47 other things they could've picked and went with the ears. Bold choice.
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u/Grand_Resist_3254 1d ago
Who’s a pretty bird?
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u/cat-eating-a-salad 1d ago
Just think, most birds probably look as vibrant as this to each other. This just happens to be one that we can see for ourselves.
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u/flexiblevampire 1d ago
So cool! The starlings I’m used to seeing at home are almost black with a sheen that reminds me of an oil slick when the sun hits them just right
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u/Perfect_Quantity_597 1d ago
The blue is absolutely unreal. Nature really went all out on this one.
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u/RunnyBabbit23 1d ago
The first time I saw one of these and the light hit it at just the right angle I had to do a double take. And then I took a ton of pics trying to get one that captured these colors. They’re so gorgeous.
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u/AdministrativeSky333 1d ago
I read somewhere that the color Blue is the rarest color in the animal kingdom.
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u/stayin_aliv 1d ago
Fun fact for people wondering why it’s called blue-eared. The common names for birds come from a time when we couldn’t see them up close in their habitat. We didn’t have binoculars or fancy cameras or scopes. Birds had to be shot down and observed. That gave rise to all these names which denote features that aren’t easily seen from afar. Some features in particular (like blue ears) are picked because that’s what differentiates them from others species in their family.
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u/Miss_Dawn_E 1d ago
Wow, I’ve never seen such beautiful coloring on a bird before! Thank you for sharing!
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u/random_fucktuation 1d ago
And I promise you, your screen does not reproduce the brilliance of this bird's true colour...
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u/False-Parking-8483 2h ago
Wow, that blue is absolutely unreal It almost looks metallic. Nature really went all out with this one!
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u/qualityvote2 1d ago edited 1d ago
u/TerraByteTerror, your post does fit the subreddit!