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  3. Speckled Mousebird

Birds · Coliiformes · Coliidae

Speckled Mousebird

Colius striatus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.

Spotted something wrong?

The speckled mousebird is a species of coliiform bird of the family Coliidae. It is the largest mousebird and one of the most widespread. It is distributed across much of sub-Saharan Africa, from eastern Cameroon to Eritrea and Ethiopia, and through south-eastern Africa as far as South Africa. Most habitats suit this species, apart from rainforest and arid areas. This mousebird prefers habitats with small bushes, such as savannah. It can be seen in gardens and in urban areas.

Weight

45 g – 75 g

Size

30 cm – 36 cm

Life expectancy

12 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Family group

Lives in small family groups with close bonds.

SavannaTemperate forestGrassland
12countries1same family

Fun facts

  • It can rotate all four toes forwards, backwards or in any combination in between, something no other bird does: that lets it hang in impossible postures, even upside down, while it eats.
  • It sleeps in a cluster: the whole group hangs packed together from a branch in a dangling mass, and goes into night-time torpor, lowering its body temperature to save energy.
  • The mousebirds make up an entire order with only six living species, all of them African: it is one of the most isolated and ancient bird lineages left.

Life cycle and biology

Skeleton type
Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat and environment
Scrub, wooded savannah, forest edges and gardens of sub-Saharan Africa
Birth weight
Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Size at birth
Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Sexual maturity
11.9 months
Gestation / incubation
14 days
Litter / clutch size
3 eggs

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Colius striatus

Where to find it

Best time: All year round in sub-Saharan Africa, by day; it moves in groups that sleep pressed against one another, hanging from a branch.

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Related species

Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Speckled Mousebird — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.

Same taxonomic family
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See its range on the interactive map→
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CountriesAngola
TagsHerbivore
Herbivore
Diurnal
Family group
Bird
Savanna
Temperate forest
Grassland
Angola
Botswana
Cameroon
Ethiopia
Kenya
Mozambique
Angola
Botswana
Cameroon
Ethiopia
Kenya
Mozambique
Nigeria
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe