Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...
A photo of a Pin-tailed Whydah (Vidua macroura), male
Pin-tailed Whydah, Male

Pin-tailed Whydah

Vidua macroura

The Pin-tailed Whydah, Vidua macroura, presents a striking figure, particularly the male during breeding season with his elongated tail feathers that trail behind him like a banner. This small songbird is a resident breeder across much of Africa, south of the Sahara Desert.

Identification Tips

In breeding plumage, the male Pin-tailed Whydah is unmistakable with his black back and crown, and a tail that extends an additional 20 centimeters beyond his 12-13 centimeter body. His wings are dark brown with white patches, and his underparts and head, save for the crown, are white. A bright red bill completes his bold attire. Females and non-breeding males are more subdued, with streaked brown upperparts, whitish underparts with buff flanks, and a buff and black face pattern. They lack the long tail but retain the red bill, while immature birds are similar to the female but plainer with a greyish bill.

Habitat

The Pin-tailed Whydah is found in grasslands, scrubs, and savannahs, and is also known to frequent parks and gardens within its range.

Distribution

This species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. It has also established populations in Portugal, particularly around Aveiro, and has been introduced to southern California, Puerto Rico, and Singapore.

Behaviour

The male Pin-tailed Whydah is known for his territorial nature and elaborate courtship displays, which include an impressive flight pattern to showcase his tail to potential mates. He often has several females within his territory. The species is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of estrildid finches, particularly waxbills, without harming the host's eggs. The nestling whydahs mimic the gape pattern of the host species' fledglings.

Song & Calls

The male's song, performed from a high perch, is a series of rapid squeaks and churring sounds, forming part of his courtship ritual.

Diet and Feeding

The Pin-tailed Whydah's diet consists primarily of seeds and grain, which it forages from the ground.

Conservation Status

The species is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating it is not at immediate risk of widespread decline.

Pin-tailed Whydah Sounds

β€Œ
Recorded by: © 
App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Pin-tailed Whydahs on Birda

Photos
Sightings

More Indigobirds, Whydahs

Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Safira V
Birding and wellbeing app
Birda is an excellent platform to share your love of Birding and is a great tool of encouragement for a Birding Beginner like me. Birda has a very kind and supportive community of Birding enthusiasts. For me BIRDA is not only a BIRDING but also a WELLBEING App.
Nicole
Gets me outdoors more
I'm still loving this app. I use it most days & gets me outdoors more. Enjoying watching others progress and photo's, it's improved my wellbeing.... I love this app! I can keep a record of sightings and see what others have seen too.
Bryan C
Clean and easy to use
Really enjoying this app, it's clean and easy to use. I love the ease of being able to add those one-off birds without starting a whole checklist. I also like the social aspect, like the parts of my Facebook I like, without the ads and junk, just birds. Can't wait to see it become more populated.
Foxgirl100
Great app for beginner twitchers
I’ve had a passion of photographing birds for a long time now but have only just gotten into proper birdwatching, and this app is brilliant for those just getting started. There is a great sense of community among users and the app is very easy to use and professional. Awesome app altogether
Nedz53
Really useful
Downloaded to give it a try, everything worked perfectly, recorded my first bird watching walk. Very impressed. Have already recommended to friends!
Dan R
Great app for bird fanatics
Great app for bird fanatics - very user friendly and a perfect place to share sightings.
Talli A
My favourite app
As a young birdwatcher who was always keen to be apart of a community but never seemed to find one, my problem was solved downloading this!!! Everyone is so friendly and just as excited to see birds as me 😁
Dunners12345
Great App
Great app to use for logging and communicating with others who are interested in birds
Nick S
Work together with community
Been loving using this app to log my bird sightings and work together with community members to identify different birds. I've already learned a lot since I started about a month ago!
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright Β© 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.