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Speckled Mousebird

Colius striatus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernFruitShrublandCup nestSmall · 51 g
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 1
Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 2
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 3
Photo: Matthew Fainman · CC BY 4.0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 4
Photo: Diego Rubolini · CC BY 4.0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 5
Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 6
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 7
Photo: Matthew Fainman · CC BY 4.0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 8
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 9
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus), photo 10
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

What the Speckled Mousebird sounds like

Sonogram of the Speckled Mousebird: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Call · Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Speckled Mousebird

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Speckled Mousebird

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 26 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

South Africa Kenya Uganda Tanzania Ethiopia Rwanda Zimbabwe Nigeria Eswatini Mozambique Malawi Congo - Kinshasa Cameroon Zambia Lesotho Botswana Congo - Brazzaville Burundi Angola Gabon South Sudan Eritrea Central African Republic Somalia Equatorial Guinea Sudan

Recorded as a rare visitor in Namibia, Senegal.

About the Speckled Mousebird

The speckled mousebird is the largest species of mousebird, as well as one of the most common. It is found throughout most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

White-backed Mousebird (Colius colius) White-backed MousebirdColius coliusThis 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). White-headed Mousebird (Colius leucocephalus) White-headed MousebirdColius leucocephalusThe white-headed mousebird is a bird belonging to the mousebird family, Coliidae. Red-backed Mousebird (Colius castanotus) Red-backed MousebirdColius castanotusIts average size ranges from 11 to 15 inches and it weighs around 1 to 3 ounces.

Side by side: Speckled Mousebird vs White-backed Mousebird

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