An extraordinarily dexterous bird
Red facial skin and a patch of sparkling blue contrast nicely on a bird with a long tail and white plumage!
A tiny bird, the blue napped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus) is about 13 to 14 inches (0.36 m) long.
The most distinctive characteristics of this bird are its long tail and turquoise blue patch on the nape of its neck.
The plumage of adult birds ranges from gray-white to ash brown, and they have a long tail, crest on top of their heads, and a black-red beak with a blue nape.
This species’ juvenile individuals lack the blue nape and have pink facial skin in addition to a green-tinged bill instead of a red one.
They can rotate all four of their toes to face forward, unlike other birds, which enables them to eat upside-down, grasp food with their feet, and perch with their legs at unusual angles.
The eastern coast of Somalia, Ethiopia, and the western coast of Sudan make up the range of the blue-napped mousebird.
Moreover, go south through East Africa to the eastern boundaries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
These birds love the bush and open forested areas of East Africa’s semidesert and dry regions.
Blue-naped Like the rest of the mousebird family, mousebirds mostly consume fruits, berries, leaves, buds, flowers, nectar, and seeds.
To help break down plants for digestion, they may also ingest soil and swallow stones.