Euplectes progne
The Long-tailed Widowbird (Euplectes progne) is an iconic passerine of the weaver family, renowned for the male's extraordinarily elongated tail during the breeding season. Breeding males are strikingly glossy black, featuring vivid orange-red shoulder patches (epaulets) and white primary wing feathers visible in flight, with their tail streamers alone reaching an impressive 50-70 cm, often more than twice their body length. This extreme sexual dimorphism means non-breeding males and females ...
Found primarily in open, moist grasslands, savannas, and cultivated fields, often near marshes or vleis. They typically occur from sea level up to approximately 3000 meters in elevation.
Primarily granivorous, feeding on a wide variety of grass seeds, often gleaned directly from grass heads or picked up from the ground. During the breeding season, their diet is supplemented with insects, such as grasshoppers, beetles, and termites, to provide protein for growing chicks.
Long-tailed Widowbirds are diurnal, spending their days foraging and, during the breeding season, males are preoccupied with elaborate courtship displays. Males establish and fiercely defend territories ranging from 0.5 to 4 hectares, utilizing prominent perches to advertise their presence. This ...
The Long-tailed Widowbird has a disjunct distribution across sub-Saharan Africa, generally within grassland biomes. The nominate subspecies, *Euplectes progne progne*, is found extensively across southeastern Africa, including South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini. A distinct population, *Euplectes...
Least Concern
- The breeding male's tail can be over twice his body length, making it one of the longest tails relative to body size of any bird in the world. - Despite its length, the tail is almost entirely for sexual display and offers no aerodynamic advantage; in fact, it significantly increases drag and e...