Long-tailed Paradise Whydah
Vidua paradisaea
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyViduidae (Indigobirds and Whydahs)
- GenusVidua (Indigobirds and Whydahs)
- SpeciesVidua paradisaea (Long-tailed Paradise Whydah)
The long-tailed paradise whydah or eastern paradise whydah (Vidua paradisaea) is a bird in the family Viduidae of the order Passeriformes. It is a small passerine with a short, stubby bill, found across eastern and southern Africa from Ethiopia south to South Africa and west to Angola. It is mostly granivorous, and feed on seeds that have ripened and fallen on the ground. The ability to distinguish between males and females is quite difficult unless it is breeding season. During this time, the males moult into breeding plumage where they have a distinctive long tail. This can be up to three times longer than its own body or even more. Wikipedia →
10–20% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Paradise Whydah sighting in Mkomazi National Park, based on 43 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Mkomazi National Park
Pin-tailed Whydah
Vidua macroura
Straw-tailed Whydah
Vidua fischeri
Village Indigobird
Vidua chalybeata
Steel-blue Whydah
Vidua hypocherina
Black Widowfinch
Vidua funerea
Usambara Double-collared Sunbird
Cinnyris usambaricus
African Dusky Flycatcher
Muscicapa adusta
Black Sawwing
Psalidoprocne pristoptera
Bar-throated Apalis
Apalis thoracica
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilis
Common Bulbul
Pycnonotus barbatus
White-tailed Crested-Flycatcher
Elminia albonotata
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Long-tailed Paradise Whydah in Mkomazi National Park?
About 13% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Paradise Whydah sighting in Mkomazi National Park, based on 43 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Long-tailed Paradise Whydah in Mkomazi National Park?
May has the highest sighting rate for Long-tailed Paradise Whydah in Mkomazi National Park in our monthly data.