- Euplectes albonotatus
Identification
Length 15 cm.
Adult breeding male: Black with a blue-grey bill, yellow and white shoulder; white wing panels in flight.
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa; Sudan and Ethiopia to South Africa.
Taxonomy
Euplectes albonotatus has three subspecies.1
- E. a. eques
- Central African Republic, southwestern Sudan, southeastern South Sudan, Ethiopia, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, and Tanzania
- Browner shoulder patch
- E. a. asymmetrurus
- E. a. albonotatus
- Southern Tanzania to northeast Botswana and South Africa
Habitat
Tall grassland with bushes, including tall grass in road verges and old lands; often moist or marshy areas.
Behaviour
Non-breeding birds forage in large flocks (often with other seed-eating species). Diet is mainly grass seeds; also nectar and insects.
Vocalisation
Sings from an elevated perch: squee-squi-squeege. Also a rustling shwrrr.
Breeding
Polygynous; male defends a territory of 0.1 to 0.2 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 dense grass within 1.3 m of the ground. Two to four eggs are incubated for 12-14 days by the female; the nestling period is 11-14 days. Parasitised by Dideric Cuckoo.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) White-winged Widowbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-winged_Widowbird
