Euplectes macroura

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea

Familia: Ploceidae
Genus: Euplectes
Species: Euplectes macroura
Subspecies: E. m. conradsi – E. m. macrocercus – E. m. macroura
Name

Euplectes macroura (Gmelin, 1789)
Synonymy

Loxia macroura (protonym)

References

Systema Naturae 1 (2): 845.

Vernacular names
Afrikaans: Geelrugflap
català: Bisbe de dors groc
čeština: Vida dlouhoocasá
dansk: Gulrygget Vidafinke
Deutsch: Gelbschulterweber
English: Yellow-mantled Widowbird
español: Obispo dorsiamarillo
suomi: Keltaselkäpiispa
français: Euplecte à dos d'or
italiano: Vedova spallegialle
日本語: キガタホウオウ
Nederlands: Geelrugwidavink
norsk: Gulkappevever
português: Viúva-de-manto-amarelo
русский: Желтоплечий бархатный ткач
svenska: Gulryggig vidafink
українська: Вайдаг жовтоплечий

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

The yellow-mantled widowbird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the crossbills in the genus Loxia and coined the binomial name Loxia macroura. Gmelin specified the locality as "Whydah"; this is Ouidah on the coast of Benin is East Africa.[2] The specific epithet is from Ancient Greek makros meaning "long" and -ouros meaning "tailed".[3] The yellow-mantled widowbird is now one of 18 species placed in the genus Euplectes that was introduced in 1829 by the English naturalist William John Swainson.[4]

E. m. macrocercus (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823) – Ethiopia, Uganda and west Kenya
E. m. macroura (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – Senegal and Gambia to south Sudan and southwest Kenya and south to Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and west Mozambique
E. m. conradsi (Berger, 1908) – Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria

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.[5]
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, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The distinctive race E. m. subsp. macrocercus occurs in Eritrea, Ethiopia, western Kenya and Uganda.[5]
Breeding males of race E. m. subsp. macrocercus have black rather than yellow mantle plumage
References

BirdLife International (2016). "Euplectes macroura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22719209A94617791. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22719209A94617791.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1789). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 2 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 845.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
Sinclair, I. & Ryan P. (2010). Birds of African south of the Sahara. Cape Town: Struik Nature. ISBN 978-1-77007-623-5.