Urocolius macrourus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
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 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 barbets) and Coraciformes (kingfishers, bee-eaters, 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.
There are a total of six recognized subspecies: Urocolius macrourus macrourus (Distribution: Senegambia to east Ethiopia) Urocolius macrourus syntactus (Distribution: Sahel from Mali, southern Niger, and northern Nigeria east to Sudan, Eritrea, and northern Ethiopia)
Urocolius macrourus laeneni (Distribution: Aïr Massif, in NC Niger.) Urocolius macrourus pulcher (Distribution: extreme South East South Sudan, Eastern... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 5 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 11 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 13 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 15 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 17 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 18 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 19 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 20 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 21 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 22 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 23 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 3 | North Carolina Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Memphis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Tierwelt Herberstein | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 6 | Schönbrunn Zoo | 🇦🇹 Austria |
No species of the same family or order lives in Maiduguri, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-naped Mousebird sighting in Maiduguri on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 57th most-seen of the 65 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and March–May
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-naped Mousebird in Maiduguri on a given day, against under 5% in February, June–October and December, the lowest months. Those are among Maiduguri's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 180 mm in August. November has too few records to rate.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-naped Mousebird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Blue-naped Mousebird sightings, Maiduguri ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Dakar (Senegal, about 10%) and N'Djamena (Chad, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-naped Mousebird is recorded against all the birds logged in Maiduguri (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
