Red-cowled widowbird

Last updated

Red-cowled widowbird
Red-cowled Widowbird - Ngorongoro - Tanzania (22861670271).jpg
Male of subspecies E. l. suahelicus in Tanzania
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae
Genus: Euplectes
Species:
E. laticauda
Binomial name
Euplectes laticauda

The red-cowled widowbird (Euplectes laticauda) is a species of bird in the weaver family Ploceidae. Red-cowled widowbirds are found in grasslands and bush clearings in East Africa. They are known for their long tails and brilliant red badges, both which act as sexual ornaments. They are often associated with other widowbird and bishop species. They are polygynous, where males acquisition of territory is an important determinant in their access to mates. Red-cowed widowbirds have a wide range and there is little concern in terms of conservation status.

The red-cowled widowbird was formerly considered as conspecific with the red-collared widowbird (Euplectes ardens). The species were split based on the substantial difference in plumage and the tail lengths of males when in breeding plumage. [2] [3]

Two subspecies are recognised: [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern red bishop</span> Species of bird

The northern red bishop or orange bishop is a small passerine bird in the family Ploceidae. It is part of the largest genus in the family with over 60 different species. Its sister species is the Southern red bishop. This species is most recognizable by the bright reddish orange with contrasting black plumage displayed by the breeding male. It is most common throughout the northern African continent but has also been introduced to areas in the western hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diederik cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The diederik cuckoo, formerly dideric cuckoo or didric cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners and the anis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow bishop</span> Species of bird

The yellow bishop, also known as Cape bishop, Cape widow or yellow-rumped widow, is a resident breeding bird species in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

<i>Euplectes</i> Genus of weaver birds native to Africa

Euplectes is a genus of passerine bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae, that contains the bishops and widowbirds. They are all native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is believed that all birds in the genus are probably polygynous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-collared widowbird</span> Species of bird

The red-collared widowbird is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. Red-collared widowbirds are found in grasslands and bush clearings in western and southern Africa. They are known for their long tails and brilliant red badges, both which act as sexual ornaments. They are often associated with other widowbird and bishop species. They are polygynous, where males acquisition of territory is an important determinant in their access to mates. Red-collared widowbirds have a wide range and there is little concern in terms of conservation status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fan-tailed widowbird</span> Species of bird

The fan-tailed widowbird, also known as the red-shouldered widowbird, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae, which is native to grassy and swampy areas of the tropical and subtropical Afrotropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsh widowbird</span> Species of bird

The marsh widowbird or Hartlaub's widowbird is a bird in the family Ploceidae. The species was first described by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1878.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-mantled widowbird</span> Species of bird

The yellow-mantled widowbird, also known as the yellow-backed widow, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-tailed widowbird</span> Species of bird

The long-tailed widowbird is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. The species are found in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Eswatini, and Zambia. The long-tailed widowbird is a medium-sized bird and one of the most common in the territories it inhabits. Adult breeding males are almost entirely black with orange and white shoulders (epaulets), long, wide tails, and a bluish white bill. Females are rather inconspicuous, their feathers streaked tawny and black with pale patches on the chest, breast and back, narrow tail feathers, and horn-colored bills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montane widowbird</span> Species of bird

The montane widowbird, also known as the mountain marsh widowbird is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae, which is native to the eastern Afrotropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange weaver</span> Species of bird

The orange weaver is a species of bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae. It is sparsely distributed across African tropical rainforest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelicourvi weaver</span> Species of bird

The nelicourvi weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Together with its closest relative, the sakalava weaver, it is sometimes placed in a separate genus Nelicurvius. A slender, sparrow-like bird, it is 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighing 20–28 g (0.71–0.99 oz). Breeding males have a black bill and head, brown eyes, yellow collar, grey belly, chestnut-brown lower tail coverts, olive back, and blackish flight feathers edged greenish. Non-breeding males have mottled grey and green heads. In the breeding female the front of the head is yellow and the back olive green, with a broad yellow eyebrow. It builds solitary, roofed, retort-shaped nests, hanging by a rope from a branch, vine or bamboo stem, in an open space. It primarily feeds on insects, looking on its own or in very small groups, often together with long-billed bernieria. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland and mountain forests. The conservation status of Nelicourvi weaver is least concern according to the IUCN Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vieillot's black weaver</span> Species of bird

Vieillot's black weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in southern Nigeria to Uganda, west Kenya, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The common name is after the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakalava weaver</span> Species of bird

The Sakalava weaver sometimes known as the Sakalava fody is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. The bird is 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighs 20–28 g (0.71–0.99 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern red bishop</span> Species of bird

The southern red bishop or red bishop is a small passerine bird belonging to the bishop and widowbird genus Euplectes in the weaver family, the Ploceidae. It is common in wetlands and grassland in Africa south of the Equator. North of the Equator, it is replaced by the northern red bishop or orange bishop which was formerly regarded as a subspecies of this species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-winged widowbird</span> Species of bird

The white-winged widowbird is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male's yellow plumage turns dark and he gains more white feathers, contrasting with the female's predominantly pale coloration. Three subspecies are recognised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black bishop</span> Species of bird

The black bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. Three subspecies are recognised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-crowned bishop</span> Species of bird

The yellow-crowned bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male adopts a distinctive yellow and black plumage, contrasting with the female's predominantly brown coloration. Four subspecies are recognised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-and-black weaver</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-and-black weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in West Africa from Sierra Leone to southern Nigeria.

The red weaver is a species of bird in the weaver family Ploceidae. It is found in southern Somalia and northeastern Kenya.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Euplectes laticauda". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T103810956A131892223. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T103810956A131892223.en . Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  3. Craig, A.J.F.; del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N.; Kirwan, G.M. (2022). Billerman, S.M.; Sly, N.D. (eds.). "Red-cowled Widowbird (Euplectes laticauda), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.recwid2.01.