Speckled Mousebird
Colius striatus
A geographically-variable, dumpy-bodied, brownish-gray bird with a long, scruffy tail. Differentiated from other mousebirds by its blackish face and gray-brown crest. It is often found scrambling through bushes and tangles, creeping around on short legs. In flight, it flutters rapidly, and its tail seems to drag it down, as if it were too heavy to make it to the next bush. Occurs in small, sociable groups in forest edge, savanna, thickets in grassland, and gardens, feeding on fruit, leaves, flowers, and nectar. After eating, birds may hang upside-down and expose the black skin on their bellies to absorb heat and aid digestion.
Identification
The speckled mousebird is about 35 cm (14 in) long, with the tail comprising approximately half the length, and weighs about 57 g (2.0 oz). It is well-named, because it is dull-mousy brown in overall color on the back and on the head (including a prominent crest). The bill is black on the upper part and is a pinkish color on the lower part. The subspecies mainly differ in the contrast on the head, the throat colour, the amount of barring and the iris colour.<p>The rare white-headed mousebird can be confused with this species, but the differently colored mandibles and the lack of a bare grey orbital patch render the speckled species distinctive.The speckled mousebird is not known for its voice, as songbirds are, although it is a noisy creature. They make a warbling tsu-tsu call while in flight, and are known for their tisk-tisk alarm call while in flight.
Taxonomy
The speckled mousebird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the mousebirds in the genus Colius and coined the binomial name Colius striatus. Gmelin based his description on the "Coliou rayé" that had been described in 1778 by the French polymath Comte de Buffon from a specimen that had been collected near the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.<p>Seventeen subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Colius striatus
- Authority
- Gmelin, JF, 1789
- Order
- Coliiformes
- Family
- Coliidae
- Genus
- Colius
Range and habitat
It is distributed from Cameroon east to Eritrea and Ethiopia, south through eastern Africa to southern South Africa and it is overspread whole part of Tanzania . Most habitats are suitable for this species, except the rainforests and more arid areas. This mousebird prefers open bushveld habitats. It is widespread in savanna and open woodlands, as well as areas with tangled thickets. It is a common "backyard bird," often seen in urban areas that contain gardens and orchards.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Large and gangly seabird that nests only in Galápagos and on Isla de la Plata (a small island near Ecuador’s central coast). When not breeding, it disperses over the eastern Pacific Ocean as far south as Chile. The only albatross likely to be seen in and near Galápagos. Adult is brown with a white head and neck and a large, yellow bill. Head and neck have a slight yellow tinge. Young birds are almost all brown and gradually develop the white head. Can be seen on land only at nesting sites, where pairs engage in elaborate courtship displays. Outside of the breeding season, it is usually only encountered far out to sea.
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A typical tapaculo, in bad light a plain and dark small bird with short tail. In good view, mostly plain dark gray with brown and slightly barred belly. Female more barred than male, and juvenile mostly brown and markedly barred. Acts like a mouse, staying near the ground in dense understory of bamboo thickets in cloud forest. Song nasal and noisy, one of the signature sounds in the mountains near Caracas; one version a series of four notes “wu-E-e-wu” and the another a faster series of 6 notes “wu-wU-e-e-wu-wu”; varied calls, the most common a descending mechanical rattle. The only tapaculo in its limited range in the Coastal Cordillera of Venezuela.
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