Shaft-tailed Whydah
Photo: Alandmanson · CC BY-SA 4.0

Whydahs and Indigobirds

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Vidua regia

LCLeast Concern
Family
Whydahs and Indigobirds (Viduidae)
Order
Passeriformes

Overview

The shaft-tailed whydah or queen whydah (Vidua regia) is a small, sparrow-like bird in the genus Vidua. During the breeding season the male has black crown and upper body plumage, golden breast and four elongated black tail shaft feathers with expanded tips. After the breeding season is over, the male sheds its long tail and grows olive brown female-like plumage.
The shaft-tailed whydah is distributed in open habitats and grasslands of Southern Africa, from south Angola to south Mozambique.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Southern Angola to Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, southern Mozambique, and KwaZulu-Natal.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.