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 →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Paradise Whydah sighting in Amboseli National Park, based on 7 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Amboseli National Park
Pin-tailed Whydah
Vidua macroura
Village Indigobird
Vidua chalybeata
Straw-tailed Whydah
Vidua fischeri
Steel-blue Whydah
Vidua hypocherina
Superb Starling
Lamprotornis superbus
Fischer's Sparrow-Lark
Eremopterix leucopareia
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
Plocepasser mahali
Grassveld Pipit
Anthus cinnamomeus
Wattled Starling
Creatophora cinerea
White-headed Buffalo-Weaver
Dinemellia dinemelli
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
Wire-tailed Swallow
Hirundo smithii
📅 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 Amboseli National Park?
About 1% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Paradise Whydah sighting in Amboseli National Park, based on 7 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Long-tailed Paradise Whydah in Amboseli National Park?
February has the highest sighting rate for Long-tailed Paradise Whydah in Amboseli National Park in our monthly data.