Red rein mousebird

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Red rein mousebird
Red rein mousebird

Red rein mousebird

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Mouse birds (Coliiformes)
Family : Mouse birds (Coliidae)
Genre : Urocolius
Type : Red rein mousebird
Scientific name
Urocolius indicus
( Latham , 1790)

The red-faced mousebird ( Urocolius indicus ), also called goggles Mausvogel is, with a body length of 33 cm and a tail length of up to 25 centimeters and a weight of up to 70 grams of a medium-sized representative of the family of mouse birds .

Appearance

The birds have light brown to gray plumage, the belly is slightly lighter in color. They wear a small feather bonnet on their heads. The red ring around the eyes and beak, which is reddish above and black below, is striking. The legs are red. The tail and wings are shiny metallic. The coloring of the males and females is the same.

distribution and habitat

This species occurs in sub-Saharan Africa. There she inhabits the forest fires and rivers. They also occur in human-designed environments such as plantations and gardens.

Way of life

The birds live together in flocks of up to 20 animals and communicate with loud sounds reminiscent of whistles or flutes. They mainly eat dates, figs and other fruits, sometimes also the young birds of other species. The birds occasionally ingest clay for better digestion and to neutralize toxins in their food. The loud calls are reminiscent of whistling or chirping. During the day, these birds take lots of sunbathing and at night they nestle close together to maintain their body temperature. In order to contain the many parasites, dust baths on the floor or the help of conspecifics are often used. The animals are true to their location and defend their territory against other conspecifics. The animals are monogamous.

A small group of red rein mousebirds on a thorn bush

Reproduction

During courtship, the male feeds the female and then they rub their beaks together. Before mating, the male hops excitedly back and forth. The open, large, untidy nest is hidden by the birds in the dense thorn bush, often near wasp nests. The clutch of the female comprises 2 to 4 white eggs with black or brown lines. The breeding period is 11 to 15 days and both parents take care of the young birds. These leave the nest when they are around 10 days old, after which the other group members take care of them for up to 6 weeks.

Danger

Because of its widespread distribution and because no endangerments are known for this species, the IUCN classifies this species as “ Least Concern (LC) ” = “not endangered”.

Subspecies

There are five known subspecies:

  • Urocolius indicus mossambicus ( Reichenow , 1896) - This subspecies is common in eastern Angola to southwestern Tanzania and Malawi .
  • Urocolius indicus lacteifrons ( Sharpe , 1892) - The range of this subspecies is the west of Angola, as well as the north of Namibia .
  • Urocolius indicus pallidus ( Reichenow , 1896) - This subspecies occurs in southeastern Tanzania and northeastern Mozambique .
  • Urocolius indicus transvaalensis Roberts , 1922 - The subspecies is distributed in southwest Zambia through central and southern Mozambique to South Africa with the exception of the south.
  • Urocolius indicus indicus ( Latham , 1790) - The nominate form occurs in southern South Africa .

Source

  • Wilhelm owner (ed.), Erna Mohr: Encyclopedia of the animals. Volume 2, Weltbild, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 978-3-89350-361-2 , p. 342.
  • Goetz Rheinwald (ed.), Cyril Walker: Atlas of the bird world. Unipart, Remseck near Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 978-3-8122-3399-6 , p. 148.
  • Christopher M. Perrins (Ed.): The FSVO encyclopedia birds of the world. Translated from the English by Einhard Bezzel. BLV, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 2004, ISBN 978-3-405-16682-3 , pp. 364–365 (title of the English original edition: The New Encyclopedia Of Birds. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003).
  • Joseph Michael Forshaw (ed.), David Kirshner: Encyclopedia of the Wildlife: Birds. Translated from the English by Derek Vinyard. Orbis, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 978-3-572-01378-4 , pp. 138-139.
  • John Latham: Index Ornithologicus, Sive Systema Ornithologiae: Complectens Avium Divisionem In Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, Ipsarumque Varietates: Adjectis Synonymis, Locis, Dexdriptionibus, & c. tape 1 . Leigh Et Sotheby, London 1790 ( online [accessed August 27, 2015]).
  • Anton Reichenow: An eastern variety of Colius indicus . In: Ornithological monthly reports . tape 4 , no. 1 , 1896, p. 4 ( online [accessed August 27, 2015]).
  • Richard Bowdler Sharpe: Catalog of the Birds in the British Museum . tape 17 . Order of the Trustees, London 1892 ( online [accessed August 27, 2015]).
  • Austin Roberts: Review of the nomenclature of South African birds . In: Annals of the Transvaal Museum . tape 8 , no. 4 , 1922, pp. 187–272 (English, online [PDF; 5.0 MB ; accessed on August 27, 2015]).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ IOC World Bird List Mousebirds, trogons & Cuckoo Roller
  2. ↑ a b Anton Reichenow, p. 4.
  3. ^ Richard Bowdler Sharpe, p. 345.
  4. ^ Austin Roberts, p. 218.
  5. ^ John Latham, p. 370.

Web links

Commons : Red Rein mousebird ( Urocolius indicus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files