Introduction

The Marsh Widowbird was collected by Jose Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta, a Portuguese explorer and naturalist, who collected a large number of birds in Angola. In 1867 the Portuguese government hired Anchieta as a naturalist but probably also as a secret agent and informer in the Caconda region of Angola. Anchieta lived in Caconda, explored the area and sent many specimens and letters to his scientific correspondents in Lisbon. Anchieta discovered the Marsh Widowbird near Caconda, and sent a single male specimen to the Lisbon Museum. Bocage measured the tail as 160 mm, while tail length in the nominate subspecies is usually 163-201 mm.

The first illustration of the Marsh Widowbird was published in Delacour (1933). The second illustration was published by Bannerman (1949), as a black and white sketch, but also showing the female and non-breeding male.

Scientific citation

Meaning of names

First English name

Alternate names

Collector

Date collected

Locality collected

Type specimens

In Kenya the similar Yellow-mantled Widowbird has yellow epaulets while these are orange in the Marsh Widowbird, and further south the Yellow-mantled Widowbird is distinguished by a yellow mantle.

The non-breeding male Marsh Widowbird is dull with coloured epaulets and dark wings. The female is dull with a dusky underwing and buff underparts.

Distribution. Two subspecies of the Marsh Widowbird are recognised (see map below, based on Birds of Africa):
E. h. hartlaubi, in Angola, DRCongo, Zambia and Tanzania in the Ufipa region (see red on map).
E. h. humeralis, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DRCongo around the Congo River, Uganda and Kenya (see blue on map). This race differs from the nominate in size, and the breeding male has a much shorter tail.

Habitat. The Marsh Widowbird inhabits swampy grasslands and nearby cultivated areas. It may visit deeper water in reeds, perching on floating lily leaves or other floating vegetation.

Food. The Marsh Widowbird feeds on grass seeds, insects including grasshoppers and small fruit and berries. It usually forages in small groups, often with other widowbirds.

Breeding. The Marsh Widowbird is polygynous. The nest is spherical, with a side entrance. The male builds the outer frame of the nest, using fine grass stems and incorporating living grass, which forms a bower over the nest. The female adds lining of dry grass, and continues to add lining after the first eggs have been laid. The nest is placed low down, usually within 20 cm of the ground, in wet areas with dense grass.

The clutch is 1-3 eggs, which are pale greenish-blue or olive-green, marked with spots and blotches. There is no other information on breeding.