About the Long-tailed Widowbird
The long-tailed widowbird is a species of bird in the weaver family Ploceidae. The species is 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-coloured bills.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
Long-tailed widowbirds exhibit distinct sexual dimorphism. Males and females exhibit differences in behaviour and morphological traits. Adult males are entirely black, including under their wing-coverts. Males' wing shoulders are orange red and their wing-coverts white. Their bills are bluish white. Males are known for their distinctly long tails, which contain twelve tail feathers. Of these twelve tail feathers, between six and eight are approximately half a metre (approximately 20 inches) long. Males have wingspans of approximately 127 to 147 mm (approximately 5 to 5.8 inches).
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
When to see it
Peak activity in January · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Fan-tailed WidowbirdEuplectes axillarisThe 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.
Red-collared WidowbirdEuplectes ardensSimilar to other widowbirds, male red-collared widowbirds have both seasonal and sexual dimorphism.
White-winged WidowbirdEuplectes albonotatusThe white-winged widowbird is 15 to 19 cm (5.9–7.5 in) in length and about 23 g (0.81 oz) in weight.
Learn the Long-tailed Widowbird for real
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