Speckled mousebird
Colius striatus
— Where the name comes from
Colius comes from koliós, a bird Aristotle names without describing, perhaps a woodpecker. Striatus means “striped”, for the fine dark bars on its breast and neck. The Italian “uccello topo” translates the English mousebird, and describes the way it moves: it scurries through branches and bushes with its body low and its long tail trailing, just like a mouse.
— Facts
- Group
- Birds · Aves
- Order
- Mousebirds
- Habitat
- Woodland edges, scrub, gardens and orchards
- Range
- Central, eastern and southern Africa
- Size
- 30–35 cm, over 20 of it tail; 35–80 g
- Diet
- Fruit, leaves, flowers, shoots
- Lifespan
- About 10 years in captivity
— Characteristics
- 01
It can turn its outer toes forward and hang from branches with its feet level with its head.
- 02
It eats a lot of leaves, which is rare among birds.
- 03
At night the group sleeps piled together in a tight cluster.
— What sets it apart
It belongs to one of the very few orders of birds found only in Africa, with just six species. It was not always so: fossil mousebirds tens of millions of years old have been found in Europe, including the famous German site of Messel. To save energy on cold nights mousebirds huddle together and let their body temperature drop; in the morning they warm up in the sun with their wings spread and their bellies exposed.
