Red-backed Mousebird Colius castanotus Scientific name definitions

30–38 cm, including elongated tail of 20–26 cm; 39–82 g. Both sexes have face and forehead black with whitish-grey feather tips; crest, rest of head, mantle and wings brown, bright chestnut patch on lower back and rump; long, graduated tail brown ; sides of head and throat greyish; underparts greyish brown, slightly vinous on breast, buffy on belly; upper mandible black with grey spot on culmen, lower mandible whitish; feet and toes coral-red to scarlet; upper half of iris yellow, lower portion duller and greener. Differs from rather similar but smaller C. striatus in bright chestnut on back and rump, no barring on mantle, throat and breast. Juvenile duller chestnut on rump, pale brown edges to wing-coverts, upper mandible greenish and lower dark, iris dark brown.

W Angola: from Zaire (at Soyo) (1 Dean, W.R.J. and Le Maitre, D.C. (2008). The birds of the Soyo area, northwest Angola. Malimbus 30(1): 1–18. Close ) E to W Malanje (perhaps to Lunda Norte) and S to Namibe (formerly Moçâmedes).

Wide range of habitats, from closed forest and secondary growth to more open wooded areas and clearings, with preference for wooded savanna, forest edge and riverine growth; also thorny scrub, cultivated areas, palm grooves; rarely, in Brachystegia woodland. Sea-level to 2000 m.

Sedentary, but local movements to gardens and orchards reported.

Mostly fruits, very often cultivated ones (pawpaw, banana, mango, figs); also flowers, blossoms and green leaves; also, at least occasionally, termites. Sometimes forms mixed-species flocks with Urocolius indicus (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ).

Foraging flocks maintain a near-constant high-pitched twittering, while other calls include a harsh "chee chee chee", which is considered to be practically indistinguishable from a vocalization given by C. striatus (3 Mills, M. S. L. (2009). Vocalisations of Angolan birds: new descriptions and other notes. Bulletin of the African Bird Club 16(2):151–167. Close ).

Nests found in Dec and Jan, but birds in breeding condition collected throughout year. Nest bowl-shaped, relatively large, roughly built, but cup lined with finer material (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); in two cases, at height of 3–4 m in tree, usually within dense foliage (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Clutches of 1–4 eggs recorded (4 Dean, W. R. J. (2000). The Birds of Angola: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 18. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ); whitish, 21·7–22·6 mm × 17–18 mm (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); incubation commences with first eggs, by both sexes, and takes 12–14 days (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); nestling has very sparse greyish down, leaves nest when c. 11 days old, but unable to fly until 21 days old (2 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). No other information on breeding. Longevity in captivity 12 years and 3 months.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Common within its comparatively restricted area, but generally uncommon in S of range; flocks of up to 20 seen in thickets and patches of coastal forest from Bengo S to Benguela town, and foraging parties of up to 12 in clearings in coffee forest at N’Dalatando. Range recently extended N to Zaïre province of extreme NW Angola (5 Dean, W.R.J. and Le Maitre, D.C. (2008). The birds of the Soyo area, northwest Angola. Malimbus 30(1): 1-18. Close ).