Marsh Widowbird
Euplectes hartlaubi
Breeding males are mostly black with a long tail. Varies geographically, with northern birds having a shorter tail and mainly orange shoulder patch, while southern birds have a longer tail and a yellow-and-orange shoulder patch. Females and non-breeding males are streaky and brown, though males retain their colorful shoulder. Breeds in marsh habitats, and uses a variety of open habitats in non-breeding season. Vocalizations include low rasps and twittering and sizzling calls. Northern breeding males similar to Fan-tailed Widowbird, but longer-tailed. Female can be confused with several other species, but is usually identified by association with orange-shouldered males.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Euplectes hartlaubi
- Authority
- (Barboza du Bocage, 1878)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Euplectes
Range and habitat
It is found in Angola, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cryptic Forest-Falcon
Micrastur mintoni
Beautiful forest-falcon, typically very difficult to see. Has a gray head and back, bare red facial skin, and white underparts with gray bars on the breast. Note the single broad white bar on the upper tail. Found in dense humid forest. Has a distinctive song, usually given at dawn, typically a slow series of single low-pitched “uk uk uk uk....” notes. Can be confused with Barred Forest-Falcon, but adult Barred Forest-Falcons have bare yellow facial skin and heavily barred underparts with three narrow white tail bars.
Purple-capped Fruit-Dove
Ptilinopus ponapensis
Colorful forest dove found solely on the Caroline Islands of Chuuk and Pohnpei; the only fruit-dove on these islands. Adult has a bright purple cap, leaf-green back and wings, and a broad lemon-yellow tail tip. Juvenile is green all over, but with darker wings. Forages in trees and bushes, feeding primarily on fruit. Song is a series of coos that accelerate before tapering off quietly.
Cook's Swift
Apus cooki
Large dark swift with long sickle-shaped wings and a forked tail, which is often kept closed in a needle-tipped point while in flight. Black overall with an ashy gray throat and a thin white rump. Distinguished from needletails by proportionally longer wings, longer and more slender body, and much longer tail. Closely related Pacific Swift has a broader and brighter rump patch and a whiter throat. Faint greenish gloss on the back is diagnostic but difficult to see. Like other "fork-tailed swifts", usually seen in flight over hills, forests, and open areas. Gives high thin notes as well as a grating trills. Breeds in limestone caves.
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