Bird Guide

Speckled Mousebird vs White-backed Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus)

Speckled Mousebird

Colius striatus

Small51 gShrubland

The speckled mousebird is about 35 cm (14 in) long, with the tail comprising approximately half the length, and weighs about 57 g (2.0 oz). It is well-named, because it is dull-mousy brown in overall color on the back and on the head (including a prominent crest). The bill is black on the upper part and is a pinkish color on the lower part. The subspecies mainly differ in the contrast on the head, the throat colour, the amount of barring and the iris colour.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Speckled Mousebird
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Call · Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0
White-backed Mousebird (Colius colius)

White-backed Mousebird

Colius colius

Small41 gShrubland

This bird is about 34 cm (13.5 in) long, with the tail comprising approximately half the length, and weighs 38–64 g (1.3–2.3 oz). The upper parts, head, prominent crest and breast are grey apart from a white back stripe flanked by two broad black stripes and a dark red, or maroon, transverse band at the base of the tail. The white is not visible unless the wings are at least partly open, such as when the birds are alighting, or sometimes in hot weather. The belly is buff in colour. The bill is bluish white with a black tip, and the legs and feet are red.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Speckled Mousebird and White-backed Mousebird.