Mottled Spinetail
Telacanthura ussheri
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderApodiformes (Swifts and Hummingbirds)
- FamilyApodidae (Swifts)
- GenusTelacanthura (Dark Spinetails)
- SpeciesTelacanthura ussheri (Mottled Spinetail)
About the Mottled Spinetail
The mottled spinetail (Telacanthura ussheri) is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The mottled spinetail was formally described in 1870 by the English ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe based on a specimen collected near Fort Victoria, Cape Coast, in present-day Ghana, by the British colonial administrator Herbert Taylor Ussher. Ussher would later become Governor of the Gold Coast. Sharpe coined the binomial name Chaetura ussheri where the specific epithet was named after the collector. The mottled spinetail is now placed together with the black spinetail in the genus Telacanthura that was introduced in 1918 by the Australian-born ornithologist Gregory Mathews.
Four subspecies are recognised: T. u. ussheri (Sharpe, 1870) – Senegal and Gambia to Nigeria T. u. sharpei (Neumann, 1908) – Cameroon and Gabon... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Mottled Spinetail in Tsavo East National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Tsavo East National Park
African Palm-Swift
Cypsiurus parvus
Little Swift
Apus affinis
White-rumped Swift
Apus caffer
Bat-like Spinetail
Neafrapus boehmi
Mottled Swift
Tachymarptis aequatorialis
Common Swift
Apus apus
African Swift
Apus barbatus
Alpine Swift
Tachymarptis melba
Forbes-Watson's Swift
Apus berliozi
Nyanza Swift
Apus niansae
Horus Swift
Apus horus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 2 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 11 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 12 | Selous Game Reserve | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 13 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 15 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 16 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 17 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 18 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Mottled Spinetail in Tsavo East National Park?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mottled Spinetail sighting in Tsavo East National Park, based on 159 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Mottled Spinetail in Tsavo East National Park?
July has the highest sighting rate for Mottled Spinetail in Tsavo East National Park in our monthly data.