Birds are the cute little buddies who are living with us on this earth. The whole body of the bird is covered with feathers and hairs, but have you ever encountered a bird with a moustache? Yes, a bird with moustaches; actually, here we found many bird species that have moustaches. Do you want to know who they are? So come and join us, because we are going to encounter eight amazing species of birds with moustaches.
Here we go!
8 Amazing Birds With Moustaches:
1. Inca tern
- Scientific name: Larosterna inca
- Geographical location: Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Central America, and Hawaii
- Genus: Larosterna
The first bird on the list of birds with moustaches is the Inca tern. However, this species is a near-threatened species of bird.
Found in Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Central America, and Hawaii. But if someone talks about a bird with moustache, then it’s harder to forget its name. It is 39 to 42 cm long and weighs 180 to 210 g.
Adults have a dark slate gray body with a paler throat and underwing coverts, a white stripe, and long satiny feathers. Their tail is black and moderately forked, and their iris is brown.
Their legs and feet are dark red, and their bill is dark red with bare yellow skin at its base. Young are purplish brown, progressing to brownish gray.
2. Red-breasted parakeets
- Scientific name: Psittacula alexandri
- Geographical location: Southeast Asia
- Genus: Psittacula
The red-breasted parakeet, also known as the moustached parakeet, is a native species of the genus Psittacula, native to Southeast Asia. It is a swarthily mustachioed parakeet found in lowland forests and forest edges.
Talking about its identification, this bird has a bright green chest, a gray-blue head, and a black mustache. Males have a bright red upper bill, while females have a black bill.
The species is found in gardens and parks. Also, it has some subspecies confined to Indonesia, the Andaman Islands, and continental Southeast Asia. The nominate race, found in Java, is close to extinction.
3. Moustached Warbler
- Scientific name: Acrocephalus melanopogon
- Geographical location: southern Europe, southern Asia, and north-west Africa
- Genus: Acrocephalus
Moustached warblers are Old World warblers in the genus Acrocephalus, known for their distinctive facial pattern.
These types of birds with moustaches have a dusky cheek stripe, a gray patch, a white eyebrow stripe, a black crown, a white chin and throat, and a grey-brown bill.
The upper parts of the warbler are rich rufous-brown, with black streaking on the back and wings.
The breast is white, darkening on the flanks and belly to a rusty yellow. They breed in southern Europe and southern temperate Asia, with a few breeding in north-west Africa.
They are larger than the Sedge Warbler but have a thick white eyebrow and throat, a dark cap, rufous rump, nape, and sides, short wings, and dark legs.
4. Moustached turca
- Scientific name: Pteroptochos megapodius
- Geographical location: Chile
- Genus: Pteroptochos
The moustached turca is a passerine bird endemic to Chile. It burrows its nest on steep hillsides and uses flight for short distances.
The stocky bird, measuring 22.5 cm long, has a heavy bill, a cocked tail, and disproportionately big feet. Adult plumage is mostly cinnamon brown with white barring on the breast, belly, and undertail covers.
The Atacama subspecies is smaller, paler, and has whiter underparts. The only species it could be confused with is the white-throated tapaculo.
They share a similar environment but are smaller and do not have the distinctive white moustache of the turca.
5. Moustache grass warbler
- Scientific name: Melocichla mentalis
- Geographical location: Chile
- Genus: Melocichla
The moustached grass warbler is scientifically known as Melocichla mentalis. This species of bird with moustaches is a large, unusual brown warbler found in tall, thick grass patches in savanna and scrub habitats.
It is characterized by its skulking behavior and distinctive fast cadence in its chatty, warbling song. Similar to the fan-tailed grassbird, but larger and with a pale eye and black facial streak, it was once part of the Sylviidae family.
6. Moustached puffbird
- Scientific name: Malacoptila mystacalis
- Geographical location: Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela
- Genus: Malacoptila
The moustached puffbird is a near-passerine bird found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. It belongs to the genus Malacoptila and is 20 to 23 cm long.
Both male and female puffbirds have distinct plumages, with the adult male being drab brown with white spots on the back and wing coverts, and the adult female having grayer markings and a paler breast.
The adult male has a white belly, whitish bars and streaks on the flanks, and a black bill. The adult female has a paler breast with heavier streaks, while the immature puffbirds are darker with less obvious light markings and less rufous on the breast.
7. Moustached laughing thrush
- Scientific name: Ianthocincla cineracea
- Geographical location: China, India, and Myanmar
- Genus: Ianthocincla
The moustached laughingthrush is a passerine bird found in China, India, and Myanmar, primarily in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
This pale brown laughingthrush, with chalk-blue wing panels, a dark cap, white eyes, and a “moustache,” prefers dense thickets and bushy habitats. It forages on or near the ground and produces rising, rattling churrs.
8. Moustached treeswift
- Scientific name: Hemiprocne mystacea
- Geographical location: northern Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck, and the Solomon Islands
- Genus: Hemiprocne
The moustached treeswift is a bird species in the Hemiprocnidae family, found in the northern Moluccas, New Guinea, Bismarck, and the Solomon Islands archipelagos.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The moustached treeswift is known for its aerial foraging abilities, with unique feather replacement patterns contributing to its agile flight and successful prey capture.
This long-tailed swift is found on lowland and foothill forest edges, with long, thin wings and a long, forked tail. It is the only tree swift in its range, and no other swift comes close to its size or tail length.
Conclusion:
These are some of the species of birds with moustaches. Moustaches in humans are very common, but in birds, they are rare to see. So if some of you want to know more interesting facts about animals, insects, and birds, then join the world of the animal kingdom with How It See.
Reference:
- Wikipedia
- bird
- BirdForum
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