The mouse-coloured penduline tit or mouse-colored penduline tit (''Anthoscopus musculus'') is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. At in length, it is one of the two shortest birds native to Africa, alongside the tit hylia.

Taxonomy

The mouse-coloured penduline tit was formally described in 1882 by the German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub under the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Aegithalus musculus''. The species is now placed in the genus '' Anthoscopus'' that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''anthos'' meaning "blossom" or "flower" with ''skopos'' meaning "searcher". The specific epithet ''musculus'' is Latin meaning "little mouse". The species is considered to be monotypic: no

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognised.

Distribution and habitat

This species has an extensive range in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 550,000 km². Its natural habitats are dry

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

and subtropical or tropical dry

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

References

External links

* mouse-coloured Birds of East Africa

mouse-coloured penduline tit The mouse-coloured penduline tit or mouse-colored penduline tit (''Anthoscopus musculus'') is a species of bird in the family Remizidae. At in length, it is one of the two shortest birds native to Africa, alongside the tit hylia. Taxonomy The ...

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Remizidae-stub