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What kind of Mousebird do I have?

SandraK

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@Petfairy Do you have any thoughts or contacts to recommend? I realize you might not be anywhere near where this young lady is.
 

Petfairy

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Hi Cayleigh-Anne.... would you say his upper beak is more yellow than blue? Or is it green? Difficult to tell in the picture.... you get Speckled, Red Faced and White backed mousebirds where you live and they all look very similar when they are babies ... except for the beak colour .... I have reached out to a contact of mine who is something of an expert in this area and should have an answer soon (if he hasn't gone on holiday already).... As soon as he gets back to me I will let you know ...
 

Cayleigh-Anne

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Cayleigh-Anne Venter
Hi Cayleigh-Anne.... would you say his upper beak is more yellow than blue? Or is it green? Difficult to tell in the picture.... you get Speckled, Red Faced and White backed mousebirds where you live and they all look very similar when they are babies ... except for the beak colour .... I have reached out to a contact of mine who is something of an expert in this area and should have an answer soon (if he hasn't gone on holiday already).... As soon as he gets back to me I will let you know ...
Hi wow thank you

To be honest his beak changes alot. Sometimes its more white/yellow sometimes its more blue/pink. At night it seems to be leaning more towards a pink color. In the morning its light colored.

I’ve added some more close ups of his face but pictures dont seem to show the true colors.

But I can say that the tip of his beak (bottom and top) is definitely going darker. And his eyes are also going lighter - like a grey.

2E59A322-D645-4CAD-80A3-A377B5335B10.jpeg 0B595DAF-A7E6-44EF-8789-DB0D481D9F26.jpeg
 

Petfairy

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I am still waiting for my expert to get back to me - he is SUPER busy at the moment with loads of baby Owls.... He will be able to tell us for sure as he hand rears loads of them on a regular basis...... my money was on the White backed mousebird because the colouring, eyes, legs etc were all correct ... until I found out that it has a distinctive white "stripe" down the back - even as a baby ... when you open the wings up it is very distinct..... and your little chap doesn't seem to have that at all... So then I moved on to a speckled ... again ... it is the only one that is more brown than grey and everything seemed to fit..... but now that you think the eyes are turning grey ... the only one with grey eyes is the red faced mousebird .... which is what you thought it was all along... as soon as my guy comes back to me I will let you know.... can't wait to solve the mystery now :)
 

Cayleigh-Anne

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Cayleigh-Anne Venter
I am still waiting for my expert to get back to me - he is SUPER busy at the moment with loads of baby Owls.... He will be able to tell us for sure as he hand rears loads of them on a regular basis...... my money was on the White backed mousebird because the colouring, eyes, legs etc were all correct ... until I found out that it has a distinctive white "stripe" down the back - even as a baby ... when you open the wings up it is very distinct..... and your little chap doesn't seem to have that at all... So then I moved on to a speckled ... again ... it is the only one that is more brown than grey and everything seemed to fit..... but now that you think the eyes are turning grey ... the only one with grey eyes is the red faced mousebird .... which is what you thought it was all along... as soon as my guy comes back to me I will let you know.... can't wait to solve the mystery now :)

Yes, I don’t think I have a white backed as their pattern is really pretty and distinctive and the speckled mousebirds seem to have their distinctive beak colors from birth... just really confusing because my birdie doesnt seem to look anything like anything haha and google cant show me what a young red faced mousebird looks like which had me really confused.
If your friend can help me that would be so great. I’ve been wrecking my brain about this for weeks now and I just can’t wait to know for sure what kind he is.
 

Petfairy

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Hi. TA DA! We have a verdict! My guy took a break from the spotted eagle owls he is currently looking after and says it is definitely a red faced mousebird. You were right all along - well done you! Soooo glad we solved the mystery! I have a huge network of local bird people so yell if you need anything else :)
 

Cayleigh-Anne

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Cayleigh-Anne Venter
Hi. TA DA! We have a verdict! My guy took a break from the spotted eagle owls he is currently looking after and says it is definitely a red faced mousebird. You were right all along - well done you! Soooo glad we solved the mystery! I have a huge network of local bird people so yell if you need anything else :)
Yay!!! Thank you sooo much Im soo happy. When I first found this little guy I wasn’t too familiar with Mousebirds but did some research and instantly fell inlove. The red faced caught my eye. I think they are so beautiful and I’m so glad to have found Mickey my Red-Faced Mousebird ❤
 

TikiMyn

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Such a sweetheart! How she holds that chain is just too adorable!
 

Cayleigh-Anne

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Such a sweetheart! How she holds that chain is just too adorable!
Thank-You
Mickey has been so cute from day one. I have so much joy and love for this birdie. Always been putting a smile on my face.
Mickey sleeps under my chin at night and goes everywhere with me. I just can’t see not having this birdie in my life ❤

To think that a wild bird could bring a person so much love
 

TikiMyn

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Thank-You
Mickey has been so cute from day one. I have so much joy and love for this birdie. Always been putting a smile on my face.
Mickey sleeps under my chin at night and goes everywhere with me. I just can’t see not having this birdie in my life ❤

To think that a wild bird could bring a person so much love
I totally understand:heart: birds are wonderfull creatures:heart:
 

SandraK

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Thank-You
Mickey has been so cute from day one. I have so much joy and love for this birdie. Always been putting a smile on my face.
Mickey sleeps under my chin at night and goes everywhere with me. I just can’t see not having this birdie in my life ❤

To think that a wild bird could bring a person so much love
Mickey is adorable and "cute enough to eat" but not in the real sense. I don't mean to put a damper on your post because it is so cute, but be careful of letting your little one sleep under your chin. A little green cheek conure I fostered who was adopted to a young girl let him sleep with her with fatal results. I blame myself because it was the one thing I did not warn her about because NONE of my fids have ever slept with me in bed.
 

Dartman

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We rescued a tiny female baby house finch from a crow on our roof years ago. She hung in there and kept eating the baby parrot food we gave her whenever she demanded it and she grew up with us. We named her Beeper and she thought she was a tiny flying human at times. She would sing the song of her people, sit on my mouse hand while I surfed till she fell asleep, steal our food and drink, and jump into any bowl or cup with water and take a bath all over us. She loved to jump on my hat and reach over the brim and pull my eye brows and try to get the big parrot Nerd, a very bad idea. She got a year and a half she wouldn't have with us and we cried when she left us.
She didn't like to be grabbed but if you held up your finger she'd plop right on it.
If they bond/imprint to you they are your loyal little feathered friend for the rest of their lives so enjoy the ride and be a good mom:heart:
 

iamwhoiam

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Every time I see photos of mousebirds I want one. They are very very cute.
My little sparrow, Spee, has always been extra special to me. Found him when he was about 1 day old.
Thank you again for taking this little one and giving him a wonderful home.
 
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