Speckled Mousebird ( Colius striatus, family: coliidae)

speckled mouse bird kruger national park birds The Speckled Mousebird (Latin name Colius striatus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 424 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 197 also a picture of the Speckled Mousebird on page 161. The Speckled Mousebird belongs to the family of birds classified as coliidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Speckled Mousebird is also known by these other names: Speckled Coly, Bar-breasted Mousebird, Striated Mousebird.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Speckled Mousebird is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Speckled Mousebird in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Speckled Mousebird : see above distribution map.

The Speckled Mousebird.

Speckled Mousebird Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Speckled Mousebird is a bird a little bit bigger than a starling. The height of the Speckled Mousebird is about 33 cms and its weight is about 55 gms

The male and female Speckled Mousebird have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is cinnamon.
  • Legs are purple.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Speckled Mousebird feeds in tree and shrub foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Seeds

Nectar

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Speckled Mousebird takes on more than a single mate (it is bigamous).

The nesting habit of Speckled Mousebird is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub or on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are cream in colour and number between 1 to 7

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Speckled Mousebird are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Speckled Mousebird in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Indlazi

Zulu ... iNdlazi

Afrikaans ...Gevlekte Muisvol

German ... Braunflgel-Mausvogel

Portuguese ... Rabo-de-junco-de-peito-barrado

French ... Coliou ray

Dutch ... Bruine Muisvogel

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 424

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za