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Photo: Julio/Adobe Stock
Euplectes franciscanus
Habitat | Widespread in semi-open habitats, including brushy thickets, overgrown fields, and the edges of marshes and ponds. |
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Usually forages in small flocks, feeding on the ground or in dense low cover.
2-4 plain blue eggs. Incubation is by the female, about 2 weeks. Young: Female feeds the young in the nest for about 2 weeks until they fledge.
Feeds mainly on seeds, especially those of grasses; also some insects.
Male performs a courtship display by flying about slowly over his territory with his red and black body plumage fully puffed out. The male builds the nest, a spherical mass of plant stems with the entrance on the side, and the female adds finer material inside to line the nest.
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