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Urocolius
''Urocolius'' is a small genus of mousebirds. Species It consists of two species which inhabit Eastern and Southern Africa: Description They are typically about 32 cm (13 in) long omnivorous birds, eating insects, small millipedes and plant material. ''Urocolius indicus'' in particular eats a great deal of fruit, leaves, buds, flowers, nectar and similar material.Maclean, Gordon Lindsay. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa Publisher: New Holland 1993. ''"Urocolius" archiaci'', ''"U." consobrinus'' and ''"U." paludicola'' are 3 taxa described from fragmentary Early Miocene remains found at Saint-Gérand-le-Puy in France. Their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic history is convoluted, being initially described as woodpeckers and variously merged and split. Today it is believed that at least 2 belong to the prehistoric genus ''Limnatornis''. They sometimes are all united under the first of the 3 names although it is not clear with what justification. The same rationales presu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue-naped Mousebird
The blue-naped mousebird (''Urocolius macrourus''), also formerly called the blue-naped coly (''Colius macrourus'') is a species of bird belonging to the family Coliidae within the order Mousebird, Coliiformes. They are the sister group to the clade Eucavitaves, which contains the families Leptosomiformes (the cuckoo roller), Trogoniformes (trogons), Bucerotiformes (hornbills and hoopoes), Piciformes (woodpeckers, toucans, and Ramphastides, barbets) and Coraciformes (kingfishers, bee-eaters, Coraciidae, rollers, motmots, and todies). The species is found in the wild in the drier regions of West Africa to East Africa, as well as Sahel. It is one of the remaining six species of mousebirds. The term "mousebird" comes from its habit of running along branches in a way that resembles the scurrying of a mouse. Taxonomy There are a total of six recognized subspecies: # ''Urocolius macrourus macrourus'' (Distribution: Senegambia to east Ethiopia) # ''Urocolius macrourus syntactus'' (Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
