Shaft-tailed Whydah
Vidua regia
- 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.
Continents
Sources and further reading
- Wikipedia: Shaft-tailed whydah
- eBird: sightings, maps and photos
- xeno-canto: sound recordings
- Birds of the World: full species account (subscription)
- BirdLife DataZone: status and threats
- IUCN Red List (threat status)
- AviList global checklist (taxonomy)
Last updated September 29, 2026.
