{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{speciesbox | name = Red-backed mousebird | image = ColiusCastanonotusKeulemans.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Colius castanotus'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22683784A93001121 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22683784A93001121.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Colius | species = castanotus | authority = Verreaux & Verreaux, 1855 | range_map = AT1002 map.png | range_map_caption = General range: Angolan scarp savanna and woodlands | synonyms = }} The '''red-backed mousebird''' ('''''Colius castanotus''''') is a species of bird in the Coliidae family. It is found in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name mousebird is based on bird's soft feathers with texture similar to a mouse's fur. The red-backed mousebird got its name from the red or chestnut color patch on its back.
[[File:Colius castanotus 52349018.jpg|left|thumb|200x200px|In Angola]]
==Description==
Its average size ranges from 11 to 15 inches and it weighs around 1 to 3 ounces.<ref name="Hutchins" />
Like other mousebirds, ''Colius castanotus'' possesses feathers that resembles the soft fur of a mouse, but it is notable for its red or chestnut patch on it back.<ref name="Encyclopedia" /> The red-backed mousebird is not adapted for long-distance flights. The wings of the mousebird are described as short and rounded.<ref name="Encyclopedia" />
The longevity of the red-backed mouse is 10 to 12 years.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schifter|first1=Herbert|title=Longevity Records of Mousebirds (Coliide) in Captivity|date=1985|page=n}}</ref> ==Range and habitat==
River borders that provide water sources for vegetation like trees and bushes are the prefect ideal homes for mousebirds. Their environment is located near the rivers between borders both southern Angola and northern Namibia.<ref name="Hutchins">{{cite book|last1=Hutchins|first1=Ed. Michaels|last2=Evans|first2=Arthur V.|last3=Jacksons|first3=Jerome A.|last4=Kleiman|first4=Devra G.|last5=Murphy|first5=James B.|last6=Thoney|first6=Dennis A.|title=Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia Vol. 9 Birds II|date=2004|location=Detroit|pages=469–470|edition=2nd}}</ref> The red-backed mousebird prefers less dense forests than those favorable to other mousebirds.<ref name="Hutchins"/> Shrubs are also favored, especially with thorns, to keep predators away from their nests.<ref name="Encyclopedia">{{cite journal|title=Encyclopedia of Animals|journal=Red-backed Mousebird|date=2006|page=1}}</ref>
The red-backed mousebird's nest structure is characterized as "cup-like, thick and untidy state".<ref name="Encyclopedia" />
== Diet==
The red-backed mousebird's diet consist of plants such as berries and seeds that can be consumed from their environment or from the crops on farms.<ref name="Hutchins"/> However, mousebirds tend to ruin the cultivated fields which makes them minor disruptions in maintaining crop fields. Other diet components include small animals such as insects, spiders, and other vertebrates such as lizards and frogs.<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>
==Behavior and Reproduction== left|thumb|Red-backed mousebird Red-backed mousebirds are social birds, living together in groups. They usually travel in flocks ranging from 6 to 24 with other mousebird groups.<ref name="Judge Allen">{{cite book|last1=Judge Allen|first1=Ed. Cathrine|last2=Evans|first2=Arthur V.|last3=McDade|first3=Melissa C.|last4=Schlager|first4=Neil|last5=Mertz|first5=Leslie A.|last6=Harris|first6=Madeline S.|title=Grzimek's Student Animal Life Resource Vol. 6 Birds: Volume 3|date=2005|location=Detroit|pages=639–641}}</ref> However, they do not migrate to other locations when the temperatures get cool, unlike many common birds.<ref name="Judge Allen" /> The average red-backed mousebird's daily routine is simple – eating, drinking water, and bathing in the dust.<ref name="Judge Allen" /> The mousebird's metabolism level is most active during the daytime.<ref>{{cite journal|date=1984|volume=125|pages=225–237|doi=10.1007/bf01640590|title=Torpor und Nahrungsausnutzung bei 4 Mausvogelarten (Coliiformes)|last1=Hoffmann|first1=Rudi|last2=Prinzinger|first2=Roland|journal=Journal für Ornithologie|issue=2|s2cid=12089536}}</ref>
Both parents take turns incubating the eggs. Yet the parenting skills of the red-backed mousebird are different, in that the young rely not only on their parents but the community as well. Other parents may help group members, another male may guard the nest and a female may share her nest with another female to incubate her eggs.<ref name="Judge Allen" /> The female red-backed mousebird lays 2 to 4 eggs per clutch.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jude Allen|first1=Ed Cathrine|last2=Evans|first2=Arthur V.|last3=McDade|first3=Melissa C.|last4=Schlager|first4=Neil|last5=Mertz|first5=Leslie A.|last6=Harris|first6=Madeline S.|title=Grzimek's Student Animal Life Resource Vol. 6 Birds: Volume 3|date=2005|location=Detroit|pages=639–641}}</ref> The eggs are white with blackish and brownish specks.<ref name="Encyclopedia" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/pictures/Colius_castanotus.html Image at ADW] {{Mousebirds}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1074311}}
red-backed mousebird Category:Birds of Central Africa red-backed mousebird Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot