Genus: Colius
Description
Four species of Mousebird from Africa. They have been called "living fossils" because their lineage includes the last survivors of a much larger and more diverse group of birds that lived during the late Paleogene and Miocene. Although they are superficially passerine-like, they do not have the typical passerine foot structure. They sometimes hang from a branch with all four toes pointing forward. This toe arrangement is called syndactylous and the only other birds with syndactylous toes are the swifts.
Taxonomy
Colius is a genus in the family Coliidae.
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| C. striatus | Speckled Mousebird | ||
| C. leucocephalus | White-headed Mousebird | ||
| C. castanotus | Red-backed Mousebird | ||
| C. colius | White-backed Mousebird | ||
Pages in category ‘Colius’
The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total.
