White-backed Mousebird

White-backed Mousebird (Colius colius)

This little bird is one of a fairly large group of birds… It is found in western and central regions of southern Africa from Namibia and southern Botswana eastwards to Central Transvaal and the eastern Cape.

This bird is about 34 cm (13 inches) long, with the tail comprising approximately half the length. When handling mousebirds the tail should be avoided, as the long tail feathers come out easily, suggesting like a lizard that it might be a sacrificial defence mechanism.

This little fellow I capture in the Kalahari and the last photo, although not good, just has a good look about it…