Euplectes axillaris
The Fan-tailed Widowbird (Euplectes axillaris) is a striking member of the weaver family, Ploceidae, known for its extreme sexual dimorphism during the breeding season. Breeding males are unmistakable, sporting a glossy jet-black plumage, brilliant scarlet-orange epaulets on their shoulders, and a unique short, stiff, fan-like tail, contrasting sharply with the elongated tails of many other widowbird species. They typically measure 17-19 cm in length, including their short tail, and weigh bet...
Found primarily in open grasslands, marshes, and reedbeds, often near water bodies or in seasonally flooded areas, typically at low to moderate elevations.
Feeds predominantly on grass seeds, supplemented with a variety of insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, and termites, often gleaned from vegetation or caught in flight.
Fan-tailed Widowbirds are diurnal, often roosting communally in dense reedbeds outside the breeding season. Males are polygynous, defending small territories where they display to attract multiple females (up to seven). Courtship involves a distinctive slow, undulating aerial display flight, duri...
The Fan-tailed Widowbird boasts a wide and fragmented distribution across sub-Saharan Africa, typically as a resident species with localized movements. It ranges from Sudan and Ethiopia south through East Africa to Mozambique, Eswatini, and eastern South Africa, and west through parts of Central ...
Least Concern
- The Fan-tailed Widowbird male's display flight is unusually slow and buoyant, almost appearing to hover as it shows off its bright shoulder patches and fanned tail. - Unlike many other widowbirds in its genus known for their excessively long tails, the Fan-tailed Widowbird male uses its short, ...