Red-collared Widowbird

Euplectes ardens (Boddaert, 1783)

Red-collared Widowbird, Euplectes ardens, is a passerine in the Ploceidae family and breeds across Africa from Sierra Leone to Uganda, south-western Sudan, north-western and southern Tanzania, and south to eastern South Africa. It lives in open grassland, bush clearings, agricultural land, forest openings and slopes with sparse tree cover. Males are marked by a long tail and a bright red chest badge, both used as ornaments in courtship. The species is polygynous, and males need to secure territory to gain mates. It was described by Boddaert in 1783.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Ploceidae — Weavers, Widowbirds

Breeding range

Africa: Sierra Leone to Uganda, sw Sudan, nw, s Tanzania s to e South Africa