A widowbird of SE Africa, the mainly black male of which has a very long tail.
- Euplectes progne, family Ploceidae. Alternative name: long-tailed widowbird
More example sentences
- Experimental manipulations of tail length proved two decades ago that long tails in male long-tailed widowbirds conferred mating advantages.
- The word 'Sakabula' comes from the Zulu word for the longtailed widow bird, a word that denotes a 'flirt' or 'show-off'. These birds are prolific in the KwaZulu Natal Midlands.
- Sightings of long tailed sakabula (widow) birds, a glimpse of a jackal or a small clan of donkeys herded by gentle Sotho herdsmen along the open road is not uncommon.
late 19th century: from Xhosa and Zulu isakabula.