Want to know where and when to find Shaft tailed Whydah? opspoor shows recent sightings across South Africa's parks and when each species is usually active.
Where to see Shaft tailed Whydah in South Africa
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
Did you know?
As an obligate brood parasite of the Violet-eared Waxbill, the whydah's eggs, chicks and fledgling begging calls and mouth markings closely mimic those of its host, tricking the waxbill into raising whydah young as its own.
Also known as: Queen Whydah
Planning a safari? Pick a park above to see when and where to look for Shaft tailed Whydah, and log your own sightings in opspoor, even with no signal.