Long-tailed Paradise Whydah vs Pin-tailed Whydah

Long-tailed Paradise Whydah

Vidua paradisaea

Small20 gWoodland

Breeding male long-tailed paradise whydahs have black heads and back, a rusty coloured breast, a bright buffy-yellow nape, and white abdomen with broad, elongated black tail feathers that can grow up to 36 cm or more. When in non-breeding plumage, males are hard to distinguish from females, and in general, from other Viduidae species, as these differ from one another in size, in non-breeding plumage and colour, and in the songs used for mating.. Usually, they are about 13 cm in length and weigh about 21 grams.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0

Pin-tailed Whydah

Vidua macroura

Small16 gShrubland

The pin-tailed whydah is 12–13 cm in length, although the breeding male's tail adds another 20 cm to this. The adult male has a black back and crown, and a very long black tail. The wings are dark brown with white patches, and the underparts and the head, apart from the crown, are white. The bill is bright red. The female and non-breeding male have streaked brown upperparts, whitish underparts with buff flanks, and a buff and black face pattern. They lack the long tail extension, but retain the red bill. Immature birds are like the female but plainer and with a greyish bill.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) James M. Maley, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by James M. Maley · cc-by

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Long-tailed Paradise Whydah and Pin-tailed Whydah.