Speckled Mousebird by kgb224

Photography • Animals • posted on Jun 30, 2009

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Description

Bird Series. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speckled_Mousebird The Speckled Mousebird is a frugivore which subsists on fruits, berries, leaves, seeds and nectar, and is fairly catholic in its choice of food from area to area. These are conspicuously social birds, feeding together and engaging in mutual preening. They also accompany each other when they go to ground to dust bathe (also to occasionally to swallow pebbles to assist in grinding up vegetation as they digest it). Upon nightfall, they roost in very tight groups of 20 or so birds and on cold nights they can become torpid. Being in a torpid state could make them easy prey, but the large groups are apparently effective enough to deter most nocturnal predators. These creatures may breed at any time of the year. The nest is a large (for the bird) and untidy cup comprised of vegetable and animal material (sometimes including cloth and paper) and is constructed by both the male and female. The clutch can range anywhere from 1 to 7 eggs (apparently based on latitude), but usually averages around 3 or 4. Nestlings are fed not only by both parents but also by helpers, which usually consist of juveniles from previous clutches. The incubation period takes 14 days and the offspring will leave the nest for the first time at about 17 or 18 days. After a little over a month, the nestlings will begin foraging for themselves. The Speckled Mousebird is not known for its voice, as songbirds are, although it is a noisy creature. They make a warbling tsu-tsu call while in flight, and are known for their tisk-tisk alarm call while in flight.