Blue-naped Mousebird
Blue-naped MousebirdBlue-naped MousebirdBlue-naped MousebirdBlue-naped Mousebird

Blue-naped Mousebird

Urocolius macrourus

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Samburu National Reserve
436 Verified sightings at Samburu National Reserve From 2019 to 2026
6,291 Verified sightings across all 29 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Blue-naped Mousebird

The blue-naped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus), also formerly called the blue-naped coly (Colius macrourus) is a species of bird belonging to the family Coliidae within the order Coliiformes. They are the sister group to the clade Eucavitaves, which contains the families Leptosomiformes (the cuckoo roller), Trogoniformes (trogons), Bucerotiformes (hornbills and hoopoes), Piciformes (woodpeckers, toucans, and barbets) and Coraciformes (kingfishers, bee-eaters, rollers, motmots, and todies).

The species is found in the wild in the drier regions of West Africa to East Africa, as well as Sahel. It is one of the remaining six species of mousebirds. The term "mousebird" comes from its habit of running along branches in a way that resembles the scurrying of a mouse.

There are a total of six recognized subspecies: Urocolius macrourus macrourus (Distribution: Senegambia to east Ethiopia) Urocolius macrourus syntactus (Distribution: Sahel from Mali, southern Niger, and northern Nigeria east to Sudan, Eritrea, and northern Ethiopia)

Urocolius macrourus laeneni (Distribution: Aïr Massif, in NC Niger.) Urocolius macrourus pulcher (Distribution: extreme South East South Sudan, Eastern... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Samburu National Reserve

White-headed Mousebird
LC

White-headed Mousebird

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Colius leucocephalus

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely
Speckled Mousebird
LC

Speckled Mousebird

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Colius striatus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~50%
2 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~50%
3 Awash National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~40%
4 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
5 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
6 Tsavo West National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
7 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
8 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
9 Meru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
10 Ruaha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
11 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
12 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
13 Tsavo East National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
14 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
15 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
16 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
17 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
18 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
19 Selous Game Reserve 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
20 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~10%
21 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
22 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
23 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
24 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
25 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
26 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
Insufficient data
27 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
Insufficient data
28 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data
29 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Blue-naped Mousebird in Samburu National Reserve?

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-naped Mousebird sighting in Samburu National Reserve, based on 436 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Blue-naped Mousebird in Samburu National Reserve?

May has the highest sighting rate for Blue-naped Mousebird in Samburu National Reserve in our monthly data.

← Back to Samburu National Reserve