CreatureData

Red-backed mousebird

Colius castanotus J. Verreaux & É. Verreaux, 1855

LCLeast Concernbirds

The red-backed mousebird (Colius castanotus) is a species in the family Coliidae, order Coliiformes. Recorded adults weigh 56.6 g to 62.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Red-backed mousebird (Colius castanotus)
Photo: John Gerrard Keulemans · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the red-backed mousebird

Weight
56.6 g – 62.2 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
12 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3src for Young per litter or clutch
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 red-backed mousebird live?

Not recorded

What is the red-backed mousebird?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The red-backed mousebird (Colius castanotus) is a species of bird in the Coliidae family.

It is found in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name mousebird is based on bird's soft feathers with texture similar to a mouse's fur. The red-backed mousebird got its name from the red or chestnut color patch on its back.

From the Wikipedia article “Red-backed mousebird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red-backed_mousebird&oldid=1380740180), 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 red-backed mousebird endangered?

The red-backed 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.

How is the red-backed mousebird classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderColiiformes
  5. familyColiidae
  6. genusColius
  7. SpeciesColius castanotus J. Verreaux & É. Verreaux, 1855
Other names and names in other languages (39)
  • Chestnut-backed colyEnglish
  • Chestnut-backed mousebirdEnglish
  • RBMOEnglish
  • Red-backed colyEnglish
  • RooirugmuisvoëlAfrikaans
  • كولي أحمر الظهرArabic
  • ocell ratolí de dors rogencCatalan
  • myšák rezavohřbetýCzech
  • myšák červenohřbetýCzech
  • coli cefngochWelsh
  • Rødrygget MusefuglDanish
  • RotrückenmausvogelGerman
  • Rotrücken-MausvogelGerman
  • ruĝdorsa musbirdoEsperanto
  • Pájaro ratón dorsirrojoSpanish
  • angoola hiirlindEstonian
  • angolanhiiroFinnish
  • Coliou à dos rougeFrench
  • Coliou à dos marronFrench
  • קוליוס אדום-גבHebrew
  • riđoleđa mišjakinjaCroatian
  • vöröshátú egérmadárHungarian
  • Uccello topo dorsorossoItalian
  • コシアカネズミドリJapanese
  • rudnugaris pelėpaukštisLithuanian
  • RoodrugmuisvogelDutch
  • RoodstuitmuisvogelDutch
  • rødryggmusfuglNorwegian
  • czepiga czerwonogrzbietaPolish
  • rabo-de-junco-de-angolaPortuguese
  • rabo-de-junco-de-dorso-vermelhoPortuguese
  • Красноспинная птица-мышьRussian
  • myšovec červenochrbtýSlovak
  • Crvenoleđi koliSerbian
  • rödryggig musfågelSwedish
  • Kızıl Sırtlı FarekuşuTurkish
  • чепіга ангольськаUkrainian
  • 紅背鼠鳥Chinese
  • 红背鼠鸟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the red-backed mousebird

Other species in the same genus Colius.

CompareRed-backed mousebird vs Speckled mousebirdRed-backed mousebird vs White-backed mousebirdRed-backed mousebird vs White-headed mousebird

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the red-backed mousebird?

An adult red-backed mousebird weighs 56.6 g – 62.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the red-backed mousebird endangered?

The red-backed 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 red-backed mousebird?

The red-backed mousebird (Colius castanotus) 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). Red-backed mousebird (Colius castanotus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-backed-mousebird

MLA

“Red-backed mousebird (Colius castanotus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-backed-mousebird.

BibTeX
@misc{red_backed_mousebird_2026,
  title = {Red-backed mousebird (Colius castanotus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-backed-mousebird},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}