Meaning of violet-backed starling | Babel Free

Definitions

Cinnyricinclus leucogaster, a relatively small species (17 cm) of starling, the male of which has an iridescent violet head and back and pure white underparts, and the female a thrush-like appearance with brown, boldly-streaked upper parts and white, heavily-streaked underparts.

Examples

“Pearl-breasted swallows swooped low over the grass beside the runway, and as they made their way across the tarmac towards the airport building they almost tripped over a small flock of violet-backed starlings.”

“Two-dimensional arrays are formed by a tight and orderly packing of melanin rods. Figure⟳ 4.24C shows the hexagonal packing structure⟳ of hollow rods responsible for the iridescent violet feathers of the striking violet-backed starling.”

“Among the highlights were violet-backed starlings, amethyst gems that glittered and flared under the unceasing Natal sun, and whose wheezing, buzzing, busy songs gave away their relationship to our own⟳ sole representative of this large Old World family (although the common starling has been introduced elsewhere, notably the United States, where it is considered a pest).”

CEFR level