Vidua fischeri

(Reichenow, 1882)

Vernacular names
English : Straw-tailed whydah
French : Veuve de Fischer

Classification
Class : Aves
Order : Passeriformes
Family : Viduidae
Notes : No subspecies known

Identification
Adults can reach a body length of 11 cm for a weight of 18 g. Breeding males have 4 straw-colored elongated tail plumes. Plumage black with straw-colored cap and belly. Female beige-brown with dark wings. Both sexes have red bill.

Range and habitat
This species has a fragmented range in eastern Africa, in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, North-east Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Lives in arid and semi-arid thorny scrubland with short grass, up to 1600 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not Listed
Status : Despite having a fragmented range, the species isn’t threatened and can be locally common. It currently faces no major threats.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

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