small tortoiseshell vs Splendid Starling

Aglais urticae compared with Lamprotornis splendidus

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Splendid Starling is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Splendid Starling
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Passeriformes (Songbirds)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Sturnidae
Genus	Aglais	Lamprotornis
Species	Aglais urticae	Lamprotornis splendidus

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Splendid Starling share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Splendid Starling

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Splendid Starling
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Splendid Starling

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Splendid Starling

Splendid Starling (Lamprotornis splendidus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇬🇧 United Kingdom