Both of these species have also been combined into a superspecies with the chestnut-bellied starling of West Africa.

[3] The species is named for Johann Maria Hildebrandt, a German collector who was the first European to obtain specimens.

[4] Hildebrandt's starling is found in Kenya and Tanzania, where it occupies open country between 500 and 2,200 m (1,600 and 7,200 ft).

As in its relatives, this iridescence is derived from the interference of reflected light from regimented microscopic feather structures and not from pigments.

Seeds from fruit have also been found in the stomachs of some birds, including those from Carissa edulis, Euclea, Rhus and Apodytes dimidiata.

It usually feeds on the ground, in pairs and small flocks, and will readily follow large mammals and catch prey flushed by their movement.

Where this is not possible it has been recorded nesting in a hole in a fence post, lamppost or telegraph pole.