Viduidae

The family of the Viduidés belongs to the class of the Oiseau X and to the order of the Passériformes. The most recent classification based on hybridizations of DNA includes it in the vast family of the Passeridae.

Viduidae include/understand Combassous and the true Widows. The males have the characteristic to cover a plumage with dominant black at the time of the period of reproduction, from where the name of " veuve".

Viduidés lay their eggs in the nest of Astrilds (which, just like their parasites, also belong to the recent family of Passeridae, that is to say according to older classifications family of Estrildidés and subfamily of Estrildinés), as the gray Coucou ( Cuculus canorus ) lays its eggs in that of the small European sparrows. In fact thus parasitic birds, but do not harm much the reproduction of their hosts: the Widows are polygamous (a male can have to 50 females in nature at certain species) and each female of Widow chooses several nests of Astrild because it lays only one egg in each nest. The egg " étranger" , hardly larger than that of the host, is brooded indifferently by the adoptive parents and the oisillon has an impressive imitation with its species of predilection: same spots coloured in the nozzle for the nourrissage, even size, even cry… One starts to distinguish the young Widows from the Astrilds young people to the take-off when the feathers develop. But the adoptive parents do not reject them any more at this age and they are quickly autonomous.

The Widows are birds slightly larger than their hosts, sometimes classified in the family of Plocéidés (Tisserins). Male and female have almost identical plumages of eclipse in period internuptiale. They resemble beige sparrows mouchetés of brown, but in period of reproduction, the male takes a splendid plumage with dominant black with a very long black or white tail according to the species. It then starts to parade with a certain aggressiveness.

List species

Combassou of Senegal - Vidua chalybeata (Muller, 1776) - Village Indigobird
Combassou de Codrington - Vidua codringtoni (Neave, 1907) - Twinspot Indigobird
Widowed of Fischer - Vidua fischeri (Reichenow, 1882) - Straw-tailed Whydah
black Combassou - Vidua funerea (Tarragon, 1847) - Variable metal Indigobird
Widowed - Vidua hypocherina Verreaux and Verreaux, 1856 - Steel-blue Whydah
Widowed native of Niger - Vidua interjecta (Gro - Length-tailed Paradise-Whydah te, 1922)
Combassou de Baka - Vidua larvaticola Payne, 1982 - Black-faced Firefinch Indigobird
Widowed Dominican - Vidua will macroura (Pallas, 1764) - Pine-tailed Whydah
Veuve of Chapin - Vidua obtusa (Chapin, 1922) - Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah
Veuve with gold collar - Vidua orientalis Heuglin, 1870 - Northern Paradise-Whydah
Widowed of paradise - Vidua paradisaea (Linnaeus, 1758) - Eastern Paradise-Whydah
Combassou purplished - Vidua purpurascens (Reichenow, 1883) - Dusky Indigobird
Combassou of Jamdandu - Vidua raricola Payne, 1982 - Goldbreast Indigobird
Widowed royal - Vidua regia (Linnaeus, 1766) - Queen Whydah gold Shaft-tailed Whydah
Widowed of Togo - Vidua togoensis (Grote, 1923) - Togo Paradise-Whydah
Combassou of Wilson - Vidua wilsoni (Hartert, 1901) - Blade-winged Indigobird

External bonds

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