Hooded Merganser & MouseBird

By Sandra | May 9, 2024 | Comments 6 comments

Hooded Merganser – Last of the birds from the Mississippi Aquarium. I almost missed these two. The Hooded merganser you can find at many places throughout the states. Such an interesting duck, it is a fish eating duck.

This one is decked out in its breeding colors. The white areas are so bright, it really catches the eye of the females.

This one is the Speckled Mousebird.

This family was named for their soft fluffy, mousy grey-brown plumage and long, thin tails, and their mouse-like habit of scurrying around in brush as they search for food.

Due to their low-calorie, fruit-based diet, these birds go into torpor (temporary or semi-hibernation) on cold nights to conserve energy. During this time, their heart rate slows down, their body temperature decreases and they remain in a so-called “suspended animation” until it is time for them to wake up and feed again.

The only other groups of birds known to go into temporary hibernation are hummingbirds and nighthawks. These mousebirds generally roost in tight groups of 20 or more birds to prevent heat loss and also to deter nocturnal predators.

Speckled Mousebirds occur naturally in Africa – from Cameroon east through the Central African Republic, southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and south Somalia, south through Kenya (except for the arid northern and eastern lowland areas of Kenya), eastern Africa to southern South Africa.