🐾 Maybe the reason I love animals so much, is because the only time they have broken my heart is when theirs has stopped beating.
Showing posts with label mousebird. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mousebird. Show all posts

Saturday 10 June 2023

Mousebirds (Coliiformes)

Mousebirds are slender greyish or brown birds with soft, hairlike body feathers. They are typically about 10 cm (3.9 in) in body length, with a long, thin tail a further 20–24 cm (7.9–9.4 in) in length, and weigh 45–55 g (1.6–1.9 oz).


They get their name from the way they scurry along like mice amongst the tree branches. They eat berries, fruits, and buds. They have very strong claws and can hang upside down while feeding. Mousebirds are very social and often gather in groups.


Way back in the day, I was lucky enough to have a Mousebird in my life after rescuing it after it fell out of the nest. She used to cling to my bra strap inside my blouse, sometimes peeping out to the astonishment of whoever was around. Interesting about Mousebirds is that they do not bathe in water like most birds, but have dust baths, like chickens and guinea fowl. And after her sand bath, she would fly up onto my shoulder and beg for some fruit. Her favourite was banana, but I also served up apples and pears, with the odd orange which she wasn’t fond of at all.


She would also will feed on the buds of some plants in the garden and I’ve also seen her take the odd insect of it strayed too close to her.  



These Mousebirds are newcomers to my garden since they discovered the apples I put out for the Bulbuls.





The Zulu name is iNdlazi and in Afrikaans it is known as gevlekte muisvoel.


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Tuesday 2 December 2014

Red-faced Mousebird (Urocolius indicus)


Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Taken in my garden (Talrton Gauteng, South Africa)
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The Red-faced Mousebirds (Urocolius indicus) have been visiting my garden every day for the past couple of weeks, sitting in the utmost top branches of my Butterfly bushes (Buddleia Salvifolia) at the other side of my pond, not really allowing me to get any close-up or clear shots. And they also don't sit still for long, always scrambling around the branches or flitting off to the next tree. Their constant calling to one another always has my heart longing for something, know not what, it sounds so plaintiff, as if they are also longing for something.
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These birds occur from southern Angola, Zambia and Malawi to southern Africa and generally prefer Acacia savannah and thickets, gardens, woodland with nearby rivers, strandveld and orchards. I have no idea where they are nesting or why they won’t move into my garden permanently! I have no fruit trees, apart from one peach tree, or any other fruit-bearing plants, so maybe that’s the reason…
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Rooiwangmuisvoël [Afrikaans]


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