red-cowled widowbird

{{Short description|Species of bird}}

{{speciesbox

| name =

| image = Red-cowled Widowbird - Ngorongoro - Tanzania (22861670271).jpg

| image_caption = Male of subspecies E. l. suahelicus in Tanzania

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=Euplectes laticauda |volume=2018 |page=e.T103810956A131892223 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T103810956A131892223.en |access-date=8 February 2023}}

| genus = Euplectes

| species = laticauda

| authority = (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823)

| synonyms =

}}

The red-cowled widowbird (Euplectes laticauda) is a species of bird in the weaver family Ploceidae. Red-cowled widowbirds are found in grasslands and bush clearings in East Africa. They are known for their long tails and brilliant red badges, both which act as sexual ornaments. They are often associated with other widowbird and bishop species. They are polygynous, where males acquisition of territory is an important determinant in their access to mates. Red-cowled widowbirds have a wide range and there is little concern in terms of conservation status.

The red-cowled widowbird was formerly considered as conspecific with the red-collared widowbird (Euplectes ardens). The species were split based on the substantial difference in plumage and the tail lengths of males when in breeding plumage.{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2023 | title=Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 13.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/weavers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=9 February 2023 }}{{cite journal | last1=Craig | first1=A.J.F. | last2=del Hoyo | first2=J. | last3=Collar | first3=N. | last4=Kirwan | first4=G.M. | date=2022 | title=Red-cowled Widowbird (Euplectes laticauda), version 1.0 | editor1-last=Billerman | editor1-first=S.M. | editor2-last=Sly | editor2-first=N.D. | journal=Birds of the World | location=Ithaca, NY, USA | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | doi=10.2173/bow.recwid2.01 }}

Two subspecies are recognised:

• E. l. laticauda (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823) – southeast Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia
• E. l. suahelicus (Van Someren, 1921) – central Kenya to north Tanzania