Fan-tailed Widowbird

Euplectes axillaris



E. a. axillaris; male
Photo by Alan Manson
Location: Cedara, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; December 2011

Identification

Length 15-17 cm. A short-tailed widowbird.

Breeding male: Black with red 'shoulders' and buff greater wing-coverts. The tail is fanned only in display. Non-breeding male: Brown, streaked blackish; with black primaries and red 'shoulders'. Female: Brown with blackish streaking above and reddish 'shoulders'.

Distribution

Widespread throughout Africa:
Western Africa Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Eastern Africa Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Mafia Island, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi.
Southern Africa Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland.

Taxonomy

Euplectes axillaris has five subspecies:^[1]

• E. a. bocagei

• Mali to Angola, south-western Zaire, northern Botswana and Namibia

• E. a. traversii

• Highlands of Ethiopia

• E. a. phoeniceus

• Southern Sudan to southern Ethiopia, Uganda, western Kenya, western Tanzania and Zambia

• E. a. zanzibaricus

• Coastal Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania

• Malawi and Mozambique south to eastern South Africa



E. a. traversii; male
Photo by volker sthamer
Location: Jimma, Ethiopia, August 2010

Habitat

Tall grassland, reedbeds and sugar cane fields.

Behaviour

Non-breeding birds forage in large flocks (often with other seed-eating species). Diet is mainly grass seeds; also insects.

Vocalisation

The male sings from an elevated perch and in flight: a series of twittering and chirping sounds.

Breeding

Polygynous; male defends a territory of up to 0.6 ha and breeds with up to four females in a season. The oval nest is built using grass and has a side-top entrance. It is located in marsh or rank vegetation within 0.8 m of the ground. Two to three eggs are incubated for 12-14 days by the female; the nestling period is 15-16 days.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
3. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Fan-tailed Widowbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Fan-tailed_Widowbird

External Links

Search for photos of Fan-tailed Widowbird in the gallery



Photo by Alan Manson



E. a. axillaris; female
Photo by Alan Manson