Red-faced Mousebird (Urocolius indicus)

Mousebirds are placed in their own order, the Coliiformes. They have been called "living fossils" because their lineage includes the last survivors of a much larger and more diverse group of birds that lived during the late Paleogene and Miocene. Notice the soft hairlike body feathers suggesting a small rodent. All Mousebirds have a very long tail, longer than the body. Sexes are alike. They reportedly go into a state of torpor or semi-hibernation to conserve energy on cold nights, an adaptation for their low-calorie, fruit-based diet. This should be the larger darker race U. i. mossambicus.