Animalia Life

Colius castanotus
TAXONOMY
Colius castanotus Verreaux & Verreaux, 1855, Gabon, error = Angola. Monotypic.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Red-backed mousebird; French: Coliou а dos marron; German: Rotrьcken-Mausvogel; Spanish: Pбjaro-ratуn Dorsirrojo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
11.4–15.0 in (29–38 cm); 1.4–2.9 oz (39–82 g). Upperparts are brown; underparts are grayish brown, buffy on belly. Has characteristic brown-red spot on the lower back rump. Face and forehead are black with whitish gray feather tips; sides of head and throat are grayish. Bill has black upper mandible with gray spot on culmen and whitish lower mandible. Feet are coral-red to scarlet. No barring on the feathers of the mantle, throat, or breast.
DISTRIBUTION
Western Angola from Congo mouth south to Namibia.
HABITAT
Forest edge, riverine growth, and cultivated land.
BEHAVIOR
Live in pairs and family groups, sedentary.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Fruits, buds, leaves, and crops in cultivation and in human settlements.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeding throughout the year when food supply is adequate.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened, though uncommon in parts of
DISTRIBUTION
area.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Not liked by humans because they cause damage to orchards and gardens.

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