CreatureData

Blue-naped mousebird

Urocolius macrourus (Linnaeus, 1766)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The blue-naped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus) is a species in the family Coliidae, order Coliiformes. Recorded adults weigh 45.5 g to 50.9 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Blue-naped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus)
Photo: Francesco Veronesi from Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the blue-naped mousebird

Weight
45.5 g – 50.9 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
12 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
13 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.4 – 2.75src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the blue-naped mousebird live?

Not recorded

What is the blue-naped mousebird?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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 Coraciiformes (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.

From the Wikipedia article “Blue-naped mousebird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue-naped_mousebird&oldid=1375839595), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the blue-naped mousebird endangered?

The blue-naped mousebird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the blue-naped mousebird classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderColiiformes
  5. familyColiidae
  6. genusUrocolius
  7. SpeciesUrocolius macrourus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms Colius macrourus

Other names and names in other languages (43)
  • Blue-naped colyEnglish
  • BNMOEnglish
  • BlouhalsmuisvoëlAfrikaans
  • كولي أزرق القفاArabic
  • كولي طويل الذيلArabic
  • ocell ratolí de clatell blauCatalan
  • myšák modrotýlýCzech
  • myšák dlouhoocasýCzech
  • coli gwarlasWelsh
  • Blånakket MusefuglDanish
  • BlaunackenmausvogelGerman
  • Blaunacken-MausvogelGerman
  • blunuka musbirdoEsperanto
  • Pájaro ratón nuquiazulSpanish
  • hall-hiirlindEstonian
  • sininiskahiiroFinnish
  • Coliou huppéFrench
  • Ceolaire broinnruaIrish
  • עכברן כחול-עורףHebrew
  • Plavoleđa mišjakinjaCroatian
  • pepeljasta mišjakinjaCroatian
  • kéknyakú egérmadárHungarian
  • MúsakóliIcelandic
  • Uccello topo nucabluItalian
  • Uccello topo nucazzurraItalian
  • アオエリネズミドリJapanese
  • melsvasprandis pilkasis pelėpaukštisLithuanian
  • BlauwnekmuisvogelDutch
  • blånakkemusfuglNorwegian
  • czepiga długosternaPolish
  • ratãoPortuguese
  • rabo-de-junco-de-nuca-azulPortuguese
  • Ratão-de-nuca-azulPortuguese
  • Синешапочная птица-мышьRussian
  • ČuvgessáhpánloddiNorthern Sami
  • myšovec dlhochvostýSlovak
  • masajski mišakSlovenian
  • Plavovrati koliSerbian
  • blånackad musfågelSwedish
  • Mavi Enseli FarekuşuTurkish
  • паяро синьошиїйUkrainian
  • 蓝枕鼠鸟Chinese
  • 藍頸鼠鳥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the blue-naped mousebird

Other species in the same genus Urocolius.

CompareBlue-naped mousebird vs Red-faced mousebird

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the blue-naped mousebird?

An adult blue-naped mousebird weighs 45.5 g – 50.9 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the blue-naped mousebird endangered?

The blue-naped mousebird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the blue-naped mousebird?

The blue-naped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus) belongs to the family Coliidae in the order Coliiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Blue-naped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-naped-mousebird

MLA

“Blue-naped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-naped-mousebird.

BibTeX
@misc{blue_naped_mousebird_2026,
  title = {Blue-naped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-naped-mousebird},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}