Bird Guide

Long-tailed Paradise Whydah vs Village Indigobird

Long-tailed Paradise Whydah (Vidua paradisaea)

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
Village Indigobird (Vidua chalybeata)

Village Indigobird

Vidua chalybeata

Tiny13 gShrubland

The village indigobird is 11–12 cm in length. The adult male is entirely greenish-black or bluish-black except for his orange-red legs and conical white bill. The female resembles a female house sparrow, with streaked brown upperparts, buff underparts, a whitish supercilium and a yellowish bill, although she also has red legs. Immature birds are like the female but plainer and without a supercilium. Many of the indigobirds are very similar in appearance, with the males difficult to separate in the field, and the young and females near impossible.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Village Indigobird
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Song · Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Attila Oláh · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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