Long-tailed widowbird

Long-tailed widowbird
Breeding male perched on a fence at Wakkerstroom, South Africa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae
Genus: Euplectes
Species:
E. progne
Binomial name
Euplectes progne
(Boddaert, 1783)
  resident range
Long-tailed widowbird male calling
A male's voice in mating season
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The long-tailed widowbird (Euplectes progne) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.[2] The species are found in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Eswatini, and Zambia.[3] The long-tailed widowbird is a medium-sized bird and one of the most common in the territories it inhabits.[4] Adult breeding males are almost entirely black with orange and white shoulders (epaulets), long, wide tails, and a bluish white bill.[2] Females are rather inconspicuous, their feathers streaked tawny and black with pale patches on the chest, breast and back, narrow tail feathers, and horn-colored bills.[2]

When flying, male long-tailed widowbirds are readily visible due to their extremely long tails. Between six and eight of their twelve tail feathers are approximately half a metre (approximately 20 inches) long. The tail during flight display is expanded vertically into a deep, long keel below the male as he flies with slow wingbeats 0.5 to 2 metres (20 to 78 inches) above his territory.

Because of the seemingly large cost to such male ornaments, the long-tailed widowbird has been the subject of extensive research into the function and evolution of sexually selected traits.[5] This research has demonstrated the existence of female choice in sexual selection and indicates the trade-offs between sexual appeal and physical constraints with regard to the evolution of sexual ornaments.[6]

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Euplectes progne". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22719244A94619254. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22719244A94619254.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Mackworth-Praed, C.W., and C.H. Grant. (1960). Birds of Eastern and North Eastern Africa. Longmans, Green and Co LTD.; London
  3. ^ Hall, B. P. and R. E. Moreau. (1970). An atlas of speciation in African passerine birds. British Museum of Natural History, London.
  4. ^ Andersson, M. (1982). "Female choice selects for extreme tail length in a widowbird." Nature, 299: 818–820.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davies was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Malte was invoked but never defined (see the help page).