Pin-tailed Whydah
Vidua macroura
The Pin-tailed Whydah (Vidua macroura) is a common whydahs and indigobird found in 54 countries, weighing about 16 g. The pin-tailed whydah is a small songbird with a conspicuous pennant-like tail in breeding males.
About the Pin-tailed Whydah
The pin-tailed whydah is a small songbird with a conspicuous pennant-like tail in breeding males. It is a resident breeding bird in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Spain, Guadeloupe.
When to see it
The Pin-tailed Whydah can be seen all year round, with peak activity in December. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Pin-tailed Whydah?
- The pin-tailed whydah is 12–13 cm in length, although the breeding male's tail adds another 20 cm to this. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Pin-tailed Whydah?
- The Pin-tailed Whydah is a small sized bird weighing about 16 g.
- Where can you see a Pin-tailed Whydah?
- The Pin-tailed Whydah occurs in 54 countries, including South Africa, the United States, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
- What birds look similar to a Pin-tailed Whydah?
- The Pin-tailed Whydah is most easily confused with the Village Indigobird, the Long-tailed Paradise Whydah and the Shaft-tailed Whydah.
- Is the Pin-tailed Whydah endangered?
- The Pin-tailed Whydah is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Pin-tailed Whydah for real
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