Fan-tailed Widowbird
Euplectes axillaris
Reedbeds and marshy areas. Breeding male. Red shoulder retained all year.
Bishops, Widowbirds
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common resident. Breeding male identified by pale bill, short tail and red shoulders. Male utters a husky ‘tseek, wirra, wirra, wirra, wirra’ when displaying. Occurs in grass and coarse vegetation fringing marshes, riverine reed beds and papyrus, cultivated fields, fallow lands and even cane fields. In summer, male flies about conspicuously over its territory, otherwise inconspicuous and in flocks.
Quick Facts
Size
19 cm S
Names
A: Kortstertflap
Z: umangube
Ss: Molepe-Hetlafubedu
G: Stummelwida
Bird Family
Reed- and grass-loving seed-eaters, differing from other Ploceidae in that males are predominantly black when breeding, some with long tails. They habitually puff out their plumage in display. Non-breeding males and immatures resemble females, and can be very difficult to identify.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Occurs in grass and coarse vegetation fringing marshes, riverine reed beds and papyrus, cultivated fields, fallow lands and even cane fields.
