The yellow-mantled widowbird (''Euplectes macroura''), also known as the yellow-backed widow, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is the type species of the genus ''

Euplectes ''Euplectes'' is a genus of passerine bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae. It contains the bishops and widowbirds. They are all native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is believed that all birds in the genus are probably polygynous. The gen ...

'', originally named for the city of Ouidah in Benin. Nowadays the name ''whydah'' (from "Ouidah") is however applied to some species in the Viduidae.

Description

Males are larger than females and acquire longer tails and striking black and golden yellow plumages in the breeding season. The mantle colour is either golden yellow, or in the case of the northeastern race, ''E. m. macrocercus'', black. The yellow shoulders persist in all male plumages, whether breeding or non-breeding.

Range and habitat

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland. It is widely distributed in Africa, and is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso,

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, Cameroon, Central African Republic,

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, Gabon,

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

, Ghana,

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

, Guinea-Bissau,

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone,

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Races

The distinctive race ''E. m.'' subsp. ''macrocercus'' occurs in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, Ethiopia, western Kenya and Uganda.

References

External links

* (Yellow-mantled widowbird = ) Yellow-backed widow
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

yellow-mantled widowbird The yellow-mantled widowbird (''Euplectes macroura''), also known as the yellow-backed widow, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is the type species of the genus '' Euplectes'', originally named for the city of Ouidah in Benin. Nowad ...

Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Ploceidae-stub