Mousebird


The mousebirds are birds in the order Coliiformes. They are the sister group to the clade Cavitaves, which includes the Leptosomiformes, Trogoniformes, Bucerotiformes, Piciformes and Coraciiformes. This group is now confined to sub-Saharan Africa, and it is the only bird order confined entirely to that continent, with the possible exception of turacos which are considered by some as the distinct order Musophagiformes, and the cuckoo roller, which is the only member of the order Leptosomiformes, and which is found in Madagascar but not mainland Africa. Mousebirds had a wider range in the Paleogene, with a widespread distribution in Europe and North America during the Paleocene.

Description

Mousebirds are slender greyish or brown birds with soft, hairlike body feathers. They are typically about in body length, with a long, thin tail a further in length, and weigh. They are arboreal and scurry through the leaves like rodents, in search of berries, fruit and buds. This habit, and their legs, gives rise to the group's English name. They are acrobatic, and can feed upside down. All species have strong claws and reversible outer toes. They also have crests and stubby bills.

Behaviour and ecology

Mousebirds are gregarious, again reinforcing the analogy with mice, and are found in bands of about 20 in lightly wooded country. These birds build cup-shaped twig nests in trees, which are lined with grasses. Clutches of two to three eggs are typically laid.

Systematics and evolution

The mousebirds could be considered "living fossils" as the six species extant today are merely the survivors of a lineage that was massively more diverse in the early Paleogene and Miocene. There are comparatively abundant fossils of Coliiformes, but it has not been easy to assemble a robust phylogeny. The family is documented to exist from the Early Paleocene onwards; by at least the Late Eocene, two families are known to have existed, the extant Coliidae and the longer-billed prehistorically extinct Sandcoleidae.
The latter were previously a separate order, but eventually it was realized that they had come to group ancestral Coraciiformes, the actual sandcoleids and forms like Neanis together in a paraphyletic assemblage. Even though the sandcoleids are now assumed to be monophyletic following the removal of these taxa, many forms cannot be conclusively assigned to one family or the other. The genus Selmes, for example, is probably a coliid, but only distantly related to the modern genera.
Extinct Coliiformes occupied a wide range of ecologies. Sandcoleids in particular often preserve uncrushed seeds on their stomachs, while bearing talons similar to those of modern birds of prey.

Taxonomy

Order COLIIFORMES
  • Genus †Botauroides Shufeldt 1915
  • * †B. parvus Shufeldt 1915
  • Genus †Eobucco Feduccia & Martin 1976 - sandcoleid?
  • * †E. brodkorbi Feduccia & Martin 1976
  • Genus †Eocolius Dyke & Waterhouse 2001 - sandcoleid or coliid
  • * †E. walkeri Dyke & Waterhouse 2001
  • Genus †Limnatornis Milne-Edwards 1871 - coliid?
  • * †L. consobrinus
  • * †L. paludicola Milne-Edwards 1871
  • * †L. archiaci
  • Coliiformes gen. et sp. indet.
  • Genus †Uintornis Marsh 1872 - sandcoleid?
  • * †U. lucaris Brodkorb 1971
  • * †U. marionae Feduccia & Martin 1976
  • Family †Chascacocoliidae Zelenkov & Dyke 2008
  • * Genus †Chascacocolius Houde & Olson 1992 - basal? sandcoleid?
  • ** †C. oscitans Houde & Olson 1992
  • ** †C. cacicirostris Mayr 2005
  • Family †Selmeidae Zelenkov & Dyke 2008
  • * Genus †Selmes Mayr 1998 ex Peters 1999 - coliid?
  • ** †S. absurdipes Mayr 1998 ex Peters 1999
  • Family †Sandcoleidae Houde & Olson 1992 sensu Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2004
  • * Genus †Sandcoleus Houde & Olson 1992
  • ** †S. copiosus Houde & Olson 1992
  • * Genus †Anneavis Houde & Olson 1992
  • ** †A. anneae Houde & Olson 1992
  • * Genus †Eoglaucidium Fischer 1987
  • ** †E. pallas Fischer 1987
  • * Genus †Tsidiiyazhi Ksepka, Stidham & Williamson 2017
  • ** †T. abini Ksepka, Stidham & Williamson 2017
  • Family Coliidae Swainson 1837 sensu Mayr & Mourer-Chauviré 2004
  • * Genus †Celericolius Ksepka & Clarke 2010
  • ** †C. acriala Ksepka & Clarke 2010
  • * Genus †Masillacolius Mayr & Peters 1998
  • ** †M. brevidactylus Mayr & Peters 1998
  • * Genus †Oligocolius Mayr 2000
  • ** †O. brevitarsus Mayr 2000
  • ** †O. psittacocephalon Mayr 2013
  • * Genus †Palaeospiza Allen 1878
  • ** †Palaeospiza bella Allen 1878
  • * Genus †Primocolius Mourer-Chauviré 1988
  • ** †P. sigei Mourer-Chauviré 1988
  • ** †P. minor Mourer-Chauviré 1988
  • * Subfamily Coliinae
  • ** Genus Urocolius
  • *** U. indicus
  • *** U. macrourus
  • ** Genus Colius
  • *** †C. hendeyi Vickers-Rich & Haarhoff 1985
  • *** †C. palustris Ballmann 1969
  • *** C. castanotus Verreaux & Verreaux 1855
  • *** C. colius
  • *** C. leucocephalus Reichenow 1879
  • *** C. striatus Gmelin 1789