White-backed Mousebird

Overview

The white-backed mousebird (Colius colius) is a large species of mousebird distributed across western and central regions of southern Africa. It is a social, frugivorous bird that typically inhabits scrubby dry environments and prefers to forage in small groups.

Identification

• Approximately 34 cm long with the tail comprising half the length, weighing 38–64 g.
• Grey upperparts and head with a prominent crest, featuring a white back stripe flanked by broad black stripes that is only visible when wings are partly open.
• Bluish-white bill with a black tip and red legs and feet.
• Distinctive whistled 'zwee-wewit' call and a buzzing or crackling call used for alarm or contact.

Habitat

Found in western and central southern Africa, ranging from Namibia and southern Botswana eastwards to Central Transvaal and the eastern Cape. The species prefers scrubby dry habitats such as thornveld, fynbos scrub, and semi-desert.

Diet

A frugivore that subsists on fruits, berries, leaves, seeds, and nectar, sometimes stripping branches of ornamental plants like fiddlewoods. It occasionally feeds on the stigmata and stamens of flowering grasses and plays a role in disseminating seeds of indigenous and invasive plants.

Did you know?

This bird exhibits parrot-like perching habits, often hanging from its legs rather than squatting and frequently gripping a different upright branch with each leg. Its long tail feathers are so easily dislodged when handled that they are considered a potential sacrificial defence mechanism.