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- Euplectes ardens
Identification
Length 12 cm; breeding male 25 cm.
Breeding adult male: Black with long tail (thinner tail than other long-tailed widowbirds); lacks coloured shoulder patches. West African birds are all-black, south-eastern birds have a red throat collar, and in north-eastern birds the red collar extends to the nape and crown.
Female and non-breeding male: Brown with a boldly striped black and buff head and unstreaked, buffy underparts.
Distribution
Taxonomy
Euplectes ardens has three subspecies:[1]
- E. a. laticauda
- Highlands of south-eastern Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia
- E. a. suahelica
- Highlands of Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania
- E. a. ardens
- Sierra Leone to Uganda, South-western Sudan and Tanzania to South Africa
Habitat
Subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.
Behaviour
References
- 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.
