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When to see Shaft tailed Whydah in Kruger National Park
Shaft tailed Whydah are most active during the day (06:00 to 18:00).
This is Shaft tailed Whydah's general behavior. Once enough sightings are logged in Kruger National Park, this page also shows when they're actually seen here.
Where to look for Shaft tailed Whydah in Kruger National Park: best roads
Drive
S21 N'watimhiri Road, S110 Matjulu Loop and H1-9 Pafuri Gate Road run through mixed bushveld: good country for Shaft tailed Whydah.
- S21 N'watimhiri Road27.3 km · mixed bushveld
- S110 Matjulu Loop24.4 km · mixed bushveld
- H1-9 Pafuri Gate Road22.2 km · mixed bushveld
Picked from habitat, not from sightings. opspoor shows where Shaft tailed Whydah have actually been seen recently.
About the Shaft tailed Whydah
A small, sparrow-like bird of open habitats and grassland across southern Africa, also known as the queen whydah. Breeding males have a black crown and upperparts, a golden-yellow breast, and four long, wire-like tail feathers with expanded tips; after the breeding season they moult into a plain olive-brown, female-like plumage and lose the long tail entirely. It is an obligate brood parasite of the Violet-eared Waxbill, laying its eggs in that species' nests and leaving all parental care to the host.
How to identify the Shaft tailed Whydah
Breeding males are unmistakable with four elongated black tail-shaft feathers with expanded tips, dropped entirely outside the breeding season when males resemble the plain, streaky females
Other species to look for in Kruger National Park
Other parks where you can see Shaft tailed Whydah
Heading to Kruger National Park? opspoor shows where Shaft tailed Whydah have been logged recently and lets you log your own, even with no signal.