The Rufous-tailed Weaver (Histurgops ruficaudus) is a species of songbird found in East Africa. Despite its name, it is placed in the sparrow family (Passeridae).
It is a quite unusual sparrow species, and was included in the weaver family (Ploceidae) by many authors even after the other Old World sparrows were separated from the weavers proper, hence its common name. Due to its distant position among the Old World sparrows, it is placed in the monotypic genus Histurgops.
It is an endemic breeder in Tanzania, but vagrants occur in Kenya too.
These were photographed in the Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.