- Colius striatus
Identification
35 cm, the tail comprising approximately half the length. Dull-mousy brown, a prominent crest, bill is black on the upper part and is pinkish on the lower.
Distribution
Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, south through eastern Africa to southern South Africa.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Colius striatus has 17 subspecies[1]:
- C. s. nigricollis: Nigeria to Cameroon, Gabon and southwest Congo
- C. s. striatus: southern Cape Province east to Great Kei River (South Africa)
- C. s. minor: eastern South Africa (south to KwaZulu-Natal), Swaziland, and extreme southern Mozambique
- C. s. integralis: southeastern Zimbabwe, northeastern South Africa, and southern Mozambique (south to Delagoa Bay)
- C. s. simulans: lower Zambezi valley in Mozambique and Malawi
- C. s. rhodesiae: highlands of east Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique
- C. s. affinis: Zimbabwe to Malawi, northern Mozambique, southern and coastal Tanzania
- C. s. mombassicus: south Somalia to coastal Kenya and northeast Tanzania (south to Amani)
- C. s. cinerascens: west and south Tanzania
- C. s. berlepschi: northern Malawi to northeast Zambia and southwest Tanzania
- C. s. kikuyensis: central Kenya and high rainfall areas of peripheral northern Tanzania
- C. s. kiwuensis: eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to Uganda, Rwanda, and northwestern Tanzania
- C. s. congicus: eastern Angola to southern Democratic Republic of the Congo and northwestern Zambia
- C. s. jebelensis: northern border of Uganda and South Sudan
- C. s. leucotis: east Sudan to west and southwest Ethiopia
- C. s. hilgerti: northeast Ethiopia, southwest Djibouti and northwest Somalia
- C. s. leucophthalmus: northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Sudan and southeastern Central African Republic
Habitat
Open bush, savanna, open woodlands, thickets, orchards and gardens.
Behaviour
They are social birds and roost in groups of 20 or more at night.
Diet
The diet includes fruits, berries, leaves, seeds and nectar.
Breeding
Both sexes build a cup shaped nest of vegetable and animal material. 1 to 7 eggs (usually 3 or 4) are laid and incubated for 14 days. The young are fed by both parents and also by helpers, which usually consist of juveniles from previous clutches. Fledging takes place at 17 or 18 days. After a little over a month, the nestlings will begin foraging for themselves.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Speckled Mousebird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Speckled_Mousebird
External Links
