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Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura Viuda Colicinta
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Breeding male -
Photo: R. Rodrφguez Mojica |
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Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura Viuda Colicinta
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Breeding male -
Photo: R. Rodrφguez Mojica |
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IDENTIFICATION: In the breeding season, the male is black and white with a red bill, and a dramatic, 20 cm.-long, black tail streamer. The female and non-breeding male are brown above with a red bill, and black and white stripes on the face. Length: 12 cm., not counting tail. VOICE: Prolonged twittering song; the call note is a sharp "hwuit." Audio 2 (M. Oberle). HABITAT: Grasslands, sugar cane fields, and suburban lawns. HABITS: Feeds on seeds in fields; often flocks when not breeding. In the breeding season the whydah follows flocks of other exotic finches. The male displays from exposed perches on branches and wires and circles above the female, performing a flight song. He also will hover just a few inches in front of a perched female to attract her interest. The female does not build a nest, but is a nest parasite, like the cowbird. She deposits her white eggs in the nests of other species, especially waxbills and other exotic finches. STATUS AND CONSERVATION: Regular but uncommon in the coastal lowlands of Puerto Rico. Still kept as a cage bird. In 1999 a whydah won "best of show" in the National Exhibition of Exotic Birds in Dorado, PR. RANGE: Introduced to Puerto Rico. Native to Africa, from Senegal and Congo, east to Eritrea, and south to South Africa, but most legal importations have been from Senegal. A regular place to find this species is in the grassy fields and along wires and fence lines near La Parguera. TAXONOMY: PASSERIFORMES; ESTRILDIDAE; Viduinae |
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Breeding male - Photo: M. Oberle
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Female/Non-breeding male plumage - Photo: M. Oberle*
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Female - Photo: R. Rodrφguez-Mojica
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Female - Photo: R. Rodrφguez-Mojica
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References Camacho Rodríguez, M., J. Chabert Llompart, and M. López Flores. 1999. Guía para la identificación de las aves exóticas establecidas en Puerto Rico. Depto. de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, San Juan, PR. Friedmann, H. 1960. The Parasitic Weaverbirds. Bulletin 223, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, Washington, D.C. Lever, C. 1987. Naturalized birds of the world. Longman Scientific & Technical, Essex, UK. Moreno, Jorge A. 1997. Review of the subspecific status and origin of introduced finches in Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 33(3-4): 233-238. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR. Raffaele, H.A. and C. B. Kepler. 1992. Earliest records of the recently introduced avifauna of Puerto Rico. Ornitología Caribeña 3:20-29. Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton. Serle, W., G.J. Morel, and W. Hartwig. 1977. A field guide to the birds of West Africa. Collins, Glasgow. Pin-tailed Whydah, Spanish text Previous related species in taxonomic order |