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Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source ↗
Pin-tailed Whydah
Koningrooibekkie · Vidua macroura
A small finch whose breeding male is unmistakable, black above and white below with a coral-red bill and four extremely long, thin black tail streamers. He bobs and hovers in the air to display over feeding females. Both sexes are seed-eaters. The whydah is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of waxbills, especially the Common Waxbill.
Log your Pin-tailed Whydah sighting — free →How to identify it
Breeding male is black-and-white with a red bill and four long needle-thin tail plumes; females and eclipse males are streaky with red bills.
Listen for its call
Sharp fast twittering — the long-tailed male is noisy and always chasing.
Where to see it in Kruger
Resident in open grassy areas, camps and edges; males perform bouncing display flights over the grass in summer.
Did you know
The male hovers and bounces in the air over a female, dangling his long tail like a fluttering kite string.
Often confused with
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