Richard de Cauwer has submitted the first PHOWN record for Yellow-mantled Widowbird. He found a half-built nest in wet grassland in Katanga, DRC. A male and female were nearby, the female with nest material. The breeding period for this species in DRC is unknown, but fits with the season in nearby Zambia of Dec-March. Usually the nest framework is woven by the male, and the female continues to add dry grass lining during incubation. In Richard's record, the female seems to be adding nest lining before egg laying. This species is polygynous, with up to five females per male, although some males will have 1 female or even none at times. Click on the photo to see full details. Richard has also sent many other interesting PHOWN records from DRC!
Bishops and widowbirds generally hide their nests in grass, so they are harder to find than the typical Ploceus nests, with the exception of the Southern Red Bishop as there nests are built in reeds and are easy to find. This is reflected in the current number of PHOWN records in the table below. Five species do not have records yet, and the others still need many more records!
VM
Species
Latin
n
971
Hartlaub's Marsh Widowbird
Euplectes hartlaubi
0
3746
Fire-fronted Bishop
Euplectes diadematus
0
3748
Northern Red Bishop
Euplectes franciscanus
0
3752
Jackson's Widowbird
Euplectes jacksoni
0
3756
Montane Marsh Widowbird
Euplectes psammocromius
0
809
Black-winged Bishop
Euplectes hordeaceus
1
815
Yellow-mantled Widowbird
Euplectes macroura
1
818
Long-tailed Widowbird
Euplectes progne
1
1179
Golden-backed Bishop
Euplectes aureus
1
812
Yellow-crowned Bishop
Euplectes afer
2
813
Red-collared Widowbird
Euplectes ardens
2
3750
Black Bishop
Euplectes gierowii
2
814
White-winged Widowbird
Euplectes albonotatus
3
810
Yellow Bishop
Euplectes capensis
4
3754
Zanzibar Bishop
Euplectes nigroventris
4
816
Fan-tailed Widowbird
Euplectes axillaris
5
808
Southern Red Bishop
Euplectes orix
239
All news items relating to this species
The headers below refer to Weaver News items featuring this species. Click on a header to see the News item, which includes the full news item. (The number in brackets is the date that the news item appeared on Weaver Watch).
