- Urocolius indicus
Identification
34 cm
- Pale cinnamon crested head and breast
- Red bill and eye mask
- Bluish-grey upperparts and tail
- Pale grey rump
- White belly
Sexes similar
Juveniles lack the crest and have a green mask
Distribution
Zaire, Zambia and Tanzania and south to South Africa.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Urocolius indicus has five subspecies:
- U. c. indicus:
- South Africa (southern Cape Province east to Great Kei River)
- U. c. pallidus:
- Coastal south-eastern Tanzania and north-eastern Mozambique
- U. c. lacteifrons:
- U. c. mossambicus:
- U. c. transvaalensis:
- Southern Mozambique to Zimbabwe, south-western Zambia and northern Cape Province
Habitat
Savanna with thickets, scrub, other open woodland, gardens and orchards.
Behaviour
Diet
Its diet includes fruits, berries, leaves, seeds and nectar.
Breeding
It builds a cup shaped nest of plant material lined with material such as sheep wool. The 2-6 eggs are incubated for about two weeks.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-faced Mousebird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-faced_Mousebird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
