The white-winged widowbird is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male's yellow plumage turns dark and he gains more white feathers, contrasting with the female's predominantly pale coloration. Three subspecies are recognised.
Region
Eastern and Southern Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs in open and semi-open habitats such as moist and rank grasslands, savanna edges, wetlands, floodplains, and cultivated fields. Often associated with tall grasses and reeds where it nests and displays. Outside the breeding season it frequents fallow fields and pasture, moving locally to track seeding grasses. Common in rural mosaics and along the margins of freshwater bodies.
Altitude Range
0–2400 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
The white-winged widowbird is a striking weaver whose males undergo a dramatic molt in the breeding season, turning largely black with bold white wing patches. Males perform fluttering display flights over tall grass to attract multiple females and defend small territories. Outside the breeding season both sexes are more cryptically colored and join mixed flocks with other weavers and bishops. Three subspecies are recognized across eastern and southern Africa.
Male courting females at Pilanesberg Game Reserve
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with fluttering display flights
Social Behavior
Forms loose colonies or aggregations in suitable grassland, with males defending small territories during the breeding season. Polygynous mating is typical; males display from tall grass stems and aerially to court females. Nests are woven globular structures placed low in dense grasses or reeds.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls are dry chips and buzzy notes, often delivered in short series from a perch. Displaying males add sizzling, scratchy phrases and soft whistles during flight. Vocalizations intensify in breeding colonies.
Plumage
Breeding male is mostly glossy black with prominent white wing patches and a somewhat elongated tail; nonbreeding male and female are buffy-brown with dark streaking and paler underparts. Feathers are sleek in breeding males, while nonbreeding plumage appears more mottled and cryptic.
Diet
Feeds primarily on grass seeds and grains, supplemented by small insects such as beetles, caterpillars, and termites, especially in the breeding season. Also takes spiders and other small arthropods gleaned from stems and seed heads. Juveniles are often fed more animal prey for protein.
Preferred Environment
Forages on or near the ground in tall or rank grasses, along field margins, and in wetland edges. Frequently joins mixed-species flocks of weavers and bishops in post-breeding periods.
