This weaver occurs in open grassland and freshwater habitats in the East African highlands. A breeding male has a black body and red head-and-collar area. It is now treated as separate from the closely related Red-collared Widowbird.
The breeding male is black with a long, slender tail and a red band running from the throat over the nape to the crown. Females and nonbreeding males are brown, with a boldly striped black-and-buff head.
It is diurnal and terrestrial, using open habitats such as grassland near freshwater. Detailed behavior is limited here to these habitat and activity records.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.