Animal-World > Birds > Types of Finches > Pintail Whydah

Pintail Whydah

Family: ViduidaeVidua macrouraPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy Affan Dagasan, Sweden

   These are fine birds to enjoy for their antics and the splendid breeding plumage of the male. The Pintail Whydah is one of the most common forms of Whydah available.

   "Whydah" is the name of a town in Nigeria where these birds are common. Pintail Whydahs are also called "Widow Birds" due to the long tail the male has during the breeding season. During this time It is twice the length of his body and often black. In the wild, when the males are not in their wonderful breeding plumage, they are surprisingly inconspicuous.

  Though the Pintail Whydahs are not difficult birds to keep, they are best if kept by themselves or with only a select few other bird types, as they can be rather quarrelsome. Breeding them is difficult as they are parasitic breeders, which means they only lay their eggs in another birds nest, and are quite particular about it.

For more information about the care of Finches see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Finch

Geographic Distribution Vidua macroura Data provided by GBIF.org Scientific Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Actiniform Class: Elasmobranchii Order: Passeriformes Family: Viduidae

Scientific name: Vidua macroura Learn more about the Pintail Whydah "Family", the Plodeidae Finches here: Finch Families

Description:    The Pintail Whydah males are very attractive when in breeding plumage. It is glossy black above with white on its underside. The sides of its head and the lower back are white, and it has a white stripe across the wings. The long narrow tail feathers are 10" (25 cm) giving the male and overall length of 13" (33 cm) when in breeding plumage, and an overall length of 6" (15 cm) in a non-breeding male. The female is tawny colored, speckled with black and is 5" (13 cm) in length.

Distribution:    Pintail Whydahs are found throughout tropical Africa, the savannahs and steppes.

Care and Feeding:    Fresh food and water must be provided daily. A good finch seed mix will provide their everyday need of grass seeds and millets and is readily available at a pet store. In a separate cup supply green foods regularly, such as chickweed and spinach. Other supplements to include sparingly are egg foods, apple and pear. Finch treats of seed with honey, fruits and vegetables are fun for your bird too, as well as nutritious!
   Grit with charcoal is essential to aid in digestion and it contains valuable minerals and trace elements. Grit should be provided in a special cup or sprinkled over the bottom of the cage floor. Provide a cuttlebone because the calcium it provides will give your bird a firm beak, strong eggshells when breeding, and will help prevent egg binding. The lime in the cuttlebone also aids in digestion.
  Give your finch a bath at least once a week and daily during the summer by placing a dish that is 1" deep with a 1/2" of water on the bottom of the cage. Bathing is very important to finches during molting and breeding.
   Their nails may occasionally need to be trimmed, but be careful never to clip into the vein as the bird can quickly bleed to death. Bird nail trimmers and styptic powder to stop the bleeding are available at pet shops.

Housing:    Pintail Whydahs do well indoors in a cage. Place the cage where it is well ventilated though free from drafts, and against a wall at eye level. It should have good light but be away from doors and windows where direct exposure to sunlight can make it overly warm.
   Provide two or three good softwood perches about 3/8" to 3/4" in diameter. Tree branches of a similar size also make good perches and will help to wear the claws down naturally. Provide separate dishes for food, water, treats, and grit. Place paper on the cage bottom that can be sprinkled with grit, or use a grit paper.
   Pintail Whydahs also do very well in aviaries or bird rooms. The screening should be 3/8" square mesh. Dishes for food, water, grit and bathing water must be included along with perches and a wide variety of nests. Leafy branches, tall grasses and reeds, and dense bushes will make the space more enjoyable for the finches.

Maintenance:    Although finches require very little time, a clean environment as well as fresh food and water daily is a must to prevent disease and illness. The basic cage care includes daily cleaning of the water and food dishes. Every two to three days change the paper on the bottom of the cage and sprinkle it with about 1/8" of fresh grit. Weekly wash and dry the entire cage, including the perches.

Social Behaviors:    The Pintail Whydahs can be a rather quarrelsome finch and it is best to avoid mixing them with other finches of similar color, and keep only one male with several females. Because they are rather assertive birds, small finches are best not housed with them.

Handling/Training:    Finches are simply enjoyed for their antics and play rather than training. When you need to handle your finch to examine it or clip it's nails, place your palm on it's back and wrap your fingers around the bird with your thumb and forefinger on either side of it's head.

Activities:    Like most finches, Pintail whydahs are very active and need to have room to fly.

Breeding/Reproduction:    Pintail Whydahs are parasitic breeders. This means they lay their eggs in the nests of a waxbill to be incubated and reared. The Common Waxbill, the St. Helena Waxbill, is the only nest they will lay in and that finch is rarely bred in captivity.
   In order for the male to attract a mate, he must be able to imitate the songs and calls of the foster finch perfectly. Consequently, the Pintail Whydah will have perfected two sets of songs, that of his species and that of the foster species. If he is successful, the female will deposit her eggs in the nest of the waxbill and the hatchlings will grow up with the waxbill babies.
   The hatchlings have a mouth pattern and a first plumage that matches that of the other nestlings, as well as the postures and begging calls. As the hatchlings age, they learn the calls and patterns of the foster parents so that they may find the right foster parents to deposit their own eggs into when they are mature. Quite fascinating, but it makes it difficult to breed them in captivity!

Potential Problems:    Pintail Whydahs are fairly hardy birds and almost all illnesses can be traced to improper diet, dirty cages, and drafts. A balanced diet and plenty of exercise will prevent most illnesses. Know your birds and watch for real drastic changes as indications of illness.
   Some signs of illness to be aware of are droppings that are not black and white, feathers that are fluffed and the bird tucks it's head under it's wing, lack of appetite, wheezing, and acting feeble and run down.
   Some of the common illnesses and injuries your finch could contract are broken wings or legs, cuts and open wounds, overgrown beaks and nails, ingrown feathers, feather picking, metabolic problems from lack of exercise, weight loss, heat stroke, shock, concussion, egg binding, diarrhea, mites, colds, baldness, scaly legs, sore eyes, tumors, constipation, and diarrhea.
   First you can try and isolate the bird in a hospital cage where you cover all but the front of the cage and add a light bulb or heating pad to keep the interior of the cage at a constant temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove all perches and put food and water dishes on the floor. If you don't see improvements within a few hours, take the bird to an avian veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.

Availability:    Pintail Whydahs are relatively expensive little birds.

Author: Clarice Brough, CAS

Lastest Comments on Pintail Whydah View all 36 comments on Pintail Whydah Add Your Comment

Clifford Bestall - 2012-02-07 I simply cannot understand why people would want to cage and deny birds their freedom. I think this is deeply regrettable. Leave animals in nature please. Reply

Norma Voge - 2011-07-28 Norma Voge - 2011-07-28 I live in Chino Hills as well, I've had one in my backyard for about three days now. My family and I have been enjoying his antics very much. He's been chasing all other birds out of my yard. We had seen one two years ago. That time my husband and I witnessed his courtship. It was the most beautiful display of moves. He would shake his tail and then fly up, and with the help of his tail, would drop down spinning it like a pair of helicopter rotor blades. It was truly fascinating. We're hoping to get to see this again Click For Replies (3) Charlie Roche - 2011-07-28 I'd just have to pick it up irene - 2011-09-20 Glad you posted. I'm in Diamond Bar, and a male in full plumage showed up today and chased my zillions of common yard birds away. Then he strutted about the patio, eating millet seeds, since I don't put out anything fancy. It occurs to me that I photographed a bird I didn't recognize two days ago, and it may be his female. But where would they lay eggs? I have no waxbills...all my finches are common house finches, and a half dozen wandering spice finches (just had a brood of about 10 little ones show up 3 days ago, to feed each morning). Do you know if the whyda would follow the spice finches, or use their nest? Louise Ridinger - 2011-10-10 10/10/11 I also live in Chino Hills and have had so much fun watching the pintailed whydahs. There is a male in full plumage and two females. They have been here for about two months and often come when I "call". Even though I thought this was a rariety, it has been so much fun! God is so good! Reply

Martine - 2008-07-17 And here I thought I was special! A male Pintail Whydah chose my backyard as his playground in the Spring of 2007. I live in East Orange in Southern California -- just a few miles from Tustin. I felt so blessed! Every morning I looked forward to seeing him and his antics and hearing his high-pitched sounds. I got quite attached to the little fellow. He never seemed to be very successful with the ladies though. Not that he didn't try... Then mid October, one day of cool weather and drizzle, and he vanished. I hoped he had simply decided to move on to warmer climates. Bad timing though, as a few days later the devastating San Diego wildfires started and raged on for days. I thought of Whydee and hoped he had made it through. Then this Spring (May 12), to my amazement, there he stood in the middle of my lawn, letting me know with his familiar racket that he was back. He had lost his tail and his breeding plumage, but I just knew it was him. He has been hanging around ever since, looking prettier and his tail growing every day. Throughout the day, he comes and taps on the windows. He is very assertive and unafraid, but still has no success with the female population of assorted species who frequent my bird feeder. I am now thinking that I should call the local pet shops and find him a mate. I feel I owe him that... Is that crazy? Click For Replies (1) Marilyn Carr Martin - 2011-08-28 How fun for you that little whydah kept coming to see you, FYI, I just purchased one a couple of months ago and just love him his song is very pretty, I bought him at the Chino Swap Meet, you should get one for inside. He was only $30. I noticed this was 3 years ago is he still coming around? my email is angelhairr1@verizon.net. BTW they have girls and boys there. Have fun! Reply

Jeanne - 2010-08-09 We live in Tustin, CA and we have at least two pin tailed Whydah males and four females, duskier color on wings and no long tail. They frequent the ground under the finch feeders, are somewhat aggressive to other birds, but also have a much lower startle threshold than the Lesser Goldfinch. They arrive in the early morning or late afternoon and we can tell when they are in the area as they have a sort of high pitched shriek, unlike the twitter of the native finches. They are beautiful, but I am concerned that if they are parasitic breeders, they might compete heavily with our native birds. Click For Replies (3) melinda - 2010-08-10 Would you have a photo of the female whydah? I would like to be able to id the female. Thanks. Jana Palermo - 2010-08-12 Hi Jeanne: I live in Anaheim Hills, CA and just saw one at my bird feeders for the first time. Are they escaped exotics? "Jana" Marilyn Carr Martin - 2011-08-28 Probably someone was breeding them and they got away, I purchased mine at the chino swap meet, I love him he sings so pretty. Reply

Marilyn Carr Martin - 2011-08-28 Marilyn Martin - 2011-08-28 I purchased a Pintail Whydah at the Chino Swap Meet on Euclid & Riverside in Chino, CA. I just love him, he has the prettiest singing sounds and not obnoxious sounding, he was only $30, I actually prefer him over a canary now, I also have a canary, Green Singer and European Goldfinch, all singing birds. So far my Goldfinch hasn't sang at all since I purchased him over a month ago? Anyone have any thoughts on this? Click For Replies (1) Toby Jungle - 2011-08-29 Sometimes the females in some species do not sing. They vocalize but do not sing. Hold old? Also, you have just had him/her a month - takes awhile. Reply

Anonymous - 2010-09-10 A pin-tailed whydah has taken up residence in our Yorba Linda, Ca back yard, and is very territorial, chasing all other birds away from the feeders. I have had to set up other feeding areas so the other birds can feast. Click For Replies (1) Marilyn Martin - 2011-08-28 I purchased a Pintail Whydah at the Chino Swap Meet on Euclid & Riverside in Chino, CA. I just love him, he has the prettiest sounds and not obnoxious sounding, he was only $30, I actually prefer him over a canary now, I also have a canary, Green Singer and European Goldfinch, all singing birds. So far my Goldfinch hasn't sang at all since I purchased him over a month ago? Anyone have any thoughts on this? Reply

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