Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird

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

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Kibale National Park

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

769 Verified sightings at Kibale National Park From 2019 to 2026
19,330 In all 43 parks
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Speckled Mousebird

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 →

Sounds

Call0:39

South Africa · 2026

© Marna Buys · XC1103077 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:37

Zambia · 2023

© Dries Van de Loock · XC860433 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Alarm call0:33

Kenya · 2022

© isaac kilusu · XC746032 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~70%
2 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~70%
3 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~70%
4 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~60%
5 De Hoop Nature Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~60%
6 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~60%
7 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~60%
8 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~60%
9 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~50%
10 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
11 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
12 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
13 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
14 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~50%
15 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
16 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~50%
17 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
18 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
19 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
20 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
21 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
22 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~40%
23 Golden Gate Highlands National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
24 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~30%
25 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
26 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
27 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
28 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~30%
29 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
30 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
31 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
32 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
33 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
34 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
35 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
36 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
37 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
38 West Coast National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
39 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
40 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
41 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
42 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
<5%
43 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brazzaville 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
~80%
2 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~80%
3 Yaoundé 🇨🇲 Cameroon
~80%
4 Addis Ababa 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~70%
5 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~60%
6 Mombasa 🇰🇪 Kenya
~60%
7 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~60%
8 Bujumbura 🇧🇮 Burundi
~60%
9 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~60%
10 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 ZooParc de Beauval 🇫🇷 France In captivity
3 Barcelona Zoo 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
4 Zoo Miami 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 San Diego Zoo Safari Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Sedgwick County Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
7 Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
8 Milwaukee County Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
9 Slimbridge Wetland Centre 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
10 Detroit Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
11 Warsaw Zoo 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
12 Woodland Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
13 Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity
14 Oregon Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Houston Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
16 Blank Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
17 Philadelphia Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
18 Honolulu Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
19 Schönbrunn Zoo 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
20 Hogle Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
21 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
22 Aquarama Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
23 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
24 Monkeyland 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
25 Discovery Cove 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
26 Alameda Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
27 Tracy Aviary 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
28 Central Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
29 Birds of Eden 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
30 National Aviary 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
31 herpetarium warszawskiego ZOO 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity
32 akwarium warszawskiego ZOO 🇵🇱 Poland In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Speckled Mousebird in Kibale National Park?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Mousebird sighting in Kibale National Park on a given day, based on 769 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 366 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Speckled Mousebird in Kibale National Park?

November

In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Speckled Mousebird in Kibale National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June and July, the lowest months. That is one of Kibale National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain against 20 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Speckled Mousebird?

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.

Where does the Speckled Mousebird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Speckled Mousebird is recorded against all the birds logged in Kibale National Park (769 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.

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