Colius striatus
Silhouette: Enoch Joseph Wetsy (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The speckled mousebird (Colius striatus) is the largest species of mousebird, as well as one of the most common. It is found throughout most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. The speckled mousebird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the mousebirds in the genus Colius and coined the binomial name Colius striatus. Gmelin based his description on the "Coliou rayé" that had been described in 1778 by the French polymath Comte de Buffon from a specimen that had been collected near the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
Seventeen subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 2 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Yaoundé | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | |
| 4 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 5 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Bujumbura | 🇧🇮 Burundi | |
| 9 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Barcelona Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Zoo Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Milwaukee County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Detroit Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Warsaw Zoo | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 12 | Woodland Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 14 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Blank Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 18 | Honolulu Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Schönbrunn Zoo | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 20 | Hogle Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 21 | Bird Paradise | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 22 | Aquarama Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 23 | Rainforest Wild Asia | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 24 | Monkeyland | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 25 | Discovery Cove | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 26 | Alameda Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 27 | Tracy Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 28 | Central Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 29 | Birds of Eden | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 30 | National Aviary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 31 | herpetarium warszawskiego ZOO | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 32 | akwarium warszawskiego ZOO | 🇵🇱 Poland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Mousebird sighting in Kafue National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 318th most-seen of the 338 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Mousebird in Kafue National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Kafue National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 290 mm in January.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Speckled 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.
43rd of 43
Of the 43 parks where we can rate Speckled Mousebird sightings, Kafue National Park ranks 43rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 70%), Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 70%) and Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 70%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Speckled Mousebird is recorded against all the birds logged in Kafue National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
