Euplecte veuve-noire

Identification

Similar to other widowbirds, male red-collared widowbirds have both seasonal and sexual dimorphism. Males are about 25 cm (9.8 in) in length while females are only 13 centimeters. A similar trend is seen with weight, where males range from 20 to 26 g (0.71 to 0.92 oz) and females are only between 16 and 22 grams. During non-breeding seasons, the male plumage is brown, while in breeding season, October to April, they have black plumage with a long tail, approximately 22 cm, and crescent-shaped carotenoid based chest patch. There is significant variation in brightness, hue, and chroma of the carotenoid badges. In contrast, females and subadults, like nonbreeding males, are streaky dull brown with a short tail, approximately 4 cm. Nonbreeding males, however, retain their black tails, while females and subadults' tails are dark-brown.

Taxonomie

The red-collared widowbird was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in the Cape of Good Hope region of South Africa. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Fringilla ardens in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The red-collared widowbird is now one of 17 species placed in the genus Euplectes that was introduced by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1829. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek eu "fine" or "good" and the Neo-Latin plectes "weaver". The specific ardens is Latin for "burning" or "glowing".<p>Traditionally, Euplectes is thought to contain two clades, with the bishops in one clade and the widowbirds in another. However, molecular evidence suggests that the red-collared widowbird is actually a long-tailed bishop rather than a true widowbird. In captivity, they have been successfully bred with southern red bishop, yellow-mantled widowbird, fan-tailed widowbird, and black-winged red bishop.<p>The red-collared widowbird was formerly considered to be conspecific with the red-cowled widowbird (Euplectes latica). The red-cowled widowbird is now treated as a separate species as it has more red in the plumage and the tail length of a male in breeding plumage is shorter.

Nom scientifique

Euplectes ardens

Autorité

(Boddaert, 1783)

Ordre

Passériformes

Famille

Ploceidae

Genre

Euplectes

Répartition et habitat

Red-collared widowbirds are found throughout Eastern and Southern Africa. While their habitats are varied, they are often found in open grasslands, agricultural areas, clearings in forests, and on slopes with limited tree coverage.

Migration

Espèce sédentaire

Comportement

Mode de migration: Espèce sédentaire.

Conservation

Tendance de la population: stable.

Tendance de la population

stable