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Birds
Shaft-tailed whydah
Shaft-tailed whydah · Vidua regia
Iridescent in flight and with a long tail feather: the shaft-tailed whydah dances through savannas, showing off spectacular courtship displays.
Fact file
- Size
- With tail feathers up to 30 cm, about 13 cm without tail, weighing 18 to 22 grams
- Males and females
- Males with a long ornamental tail and striking breeding plumage, females plain brown
- Sounds
- Repertoire of fine twittering combined with conspicuous courtship calls
- Diet
- Feeds mainly on seeds, occasionally also small insects
- Offspring
- Lays its eggs as a brood parasite in the nests of other bird species, usually whydahs
How to identify Shaft-tailed whydah
The shaft-tailed whydah is an unmistakable bird with strikingly long tail feathers, which stand out particularly in the breeding plumage of the males. During the breeding season males wear strongly contrasting plumage: black upperparts, bright white underparts and a golden-yellow patch on the neck. Females are much more inconspicuous, mostly brown and streaked with shorter tails, which makes telling them apart easy.
During courtship males reach almost 30 centimetres in length thanks to their long, narrow ornamental tail, while the body itself remains rather delicate. The graceful silhouette, together with the pale bill and dynamic flight, helps you clearly identify the shaft-tailed whydah even from a distance.
More in the app
With Wildful Stories+ you also get in the app:
- general viewing tips
- 3 places where you can see Shaft-tailed whydah
Where Shaft-tailed whydah live
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