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UGANDA BIRD GUIDES
The Pin-Tailed Whydah

Are you planning a Uganda Birding Safari to the woods at the end of your business trip to Africa, then you need to watch out for this interesting brood parasite, the Pin-Tailed Whydah.

In this section of the Uganda Birding Safari Guide we share with you information about Pin-Tailed Whydahs in Uganda in order to make your Bird watching tour to Africa even more rewarding.

Remember that your birding eye will only see what it knows!

You will find information about:

Where to find Pin-Tailed Whydahs in Uganda

How to Identify the Pin-Tailed Whydah and

Interesting facts about Pin-Tailed Whydah

Where to find the Pin-Tailed Whydah in Uganda (Vidua macroura)

You will be able to the Pin-Tailed Whydah in many open habitats in Africa including open woodland, scrub and cultivation.

In Uganda, the best to watch this bird is Semiliki National park.

How you will know that you've seen a Pin-Tailed Whydah

You will see a small song bird, about 12-13cm long with an additional 20cm tail if its a breeding male Whydah.

You will know its an adult male when you the bird has a black back and crown, and a very long black tail. Wings are dark brown with white patches. The hind parts and the head (except the crown) are white and the bill is bright red.

On the female and non-breeding male birds you will see streaked brown under parts with whitish buff flanks and a buff and black face pattern.

The young males birds don't have the long tail extension, but you will see their red bill.

Immature birds are like the female, but plainer and with a grayish bill.

Interesting Facts about the Pin-Tailed Whydah

During courtship, the male Pin-Tailed Whydah sings a song with a high peach, the song is a relatively tuneless jumble of harsh squeaks and sparrow-like chirps that form a rythmic partten.

Did you know?

The female Pin-Tailed Whydah is a brood parasite and lays her eggs in the nests of other birds and the main victims are the Estrild waxbills.

Fortunately, this Uganda bird does not destroy the eggs of its host, like the normal parasites would, the Pin-Tailed Whydah will normally add 2-4 eggs to the ones present in the nest.

The male bird is territorial and you will often find only one living among several females in his group.

If you want to rare your own Pin-Tailed Whydah you can feed them on seeds and grain.