Marsh widowbird
Euplectes hartlaubi (Bocage, 1878)
The marsh widowbird (Euplectes hartlaubi) is a species in the family Ploceidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 35.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the marsh widowbird
- Weight
- 35.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the marsh widowbird
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the marsh widowbird live?
Not recorded
What is the marsh widowbird?
The marsh widowbird or Hartlaub's widowbird (Euplectes hartlaubi) is a bird in the family Ploceidae. The species was first described by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1878.
From the Wikipedia article “Marsh widowbird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marsh_widowbird&oldid=1314940436), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the marsh widowbird endangered?
The marsh widowbird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the marsh widowbird classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPloceidae
- genusEuplectes
- SpeciesEuplectes hartlaubi (Bocage, 1878)
Synonyms Penthetria hartlaubi
Other names and names in other languages (33)
- Marsh whydahEnglish
- Marsh whydahEnglish
- MAWIEnglish
- bisbe d'aiguamollCatalan
- vida HartlaubovaCzech
- gweddw’r gorsWelsh
- SumpvidafinkeDanish
- HartlaubwidaGerman
- Hartlaub-WidaGerman
- HartlaubweberGerman
- marĉa teksbirdoEsperanto
- Obispo marismeñoSpanish
- luhtapiispaFinnish
- Veuve des maraisFrench
- Euplecte des maraisFrench
- močvarna pletiljaCroatian
- Vedova di paludeItalian
- オナガキガタホウオウJapanese
- pelkinis aksominis audėjasLithuanian
- Hartlaubs WidavinkDutch
- myrveverNorwegian
- wikłacz płomiennoskrzydłyPolish
- bispo-do-pântanoPortuguese
- bispo-dos-pântanosPortuguese
- Папирусовый ткачикRussian
- Бархатный ткач ХартлаубаRussian
- tkáčik bahennýSlovak
- Hartlaubova vidaSerbian
- träskvidafinkSwedish
- Bataklık DulkuşuTurkish
- вайдаг болотянийUkrainian
- 沼泽巧织雀Chinese
- 沼澤寡婦鳥Chinese
Relatives of the marsh widowbird
Other species in the same genus Euplectes.
Southern red bishop
Euplectes orix
Long-tailed widowbird
Euplectes progne
Northern red bishop
Euplectes franciscanus
Yellow-crowned bishop
Euplectes afer
Jackson's widowbird
Euplectes jacksoni
Yellow bishop
Euplectes capensis
CompareMarsh widowbird vs Southern red bishopMarsh widowbird vs Long-tailed widowbirdMarsh widowbird vs Northern red bishopMarsh widowbird vs Yellow-crowned bishop
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the marsh widowbird?
An adult marsh widowbird weighs 35.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the marsh widowbird endangered?
The marsh widowbird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the marsh widowbird?
The marsh widowbird (Euplectes hartlaubi) belongs to the family Ploceidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Marsh widowbird (Euplectes hartlaubi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-widowbird
“Marsh widowbird (Euplectes hartlaubi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-widowbird.
@misc{marsh_widowbird_2026,
title = {Marsh widowbird (Euplectes hartlaubi)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-widowbird},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}