Shaft-tailed Whydah (Vidua regia)

Other Names (World)
Shaft-tailed Whydah, Queen Whydah, Shaft-tailed Widow

Family
Viduidae (Whydahs And Indigobirds)

Size
12 - 34 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1766)

Habitat
Subtropical and tropical lowland dry shrubland, dry savanna.

Range (Guide)

Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Southern Angola, southern and western Zambia, northern and eastern Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique, and northern South Africa (Limpopo Province south to extreme northern Northern Cape, northern and western Free State and northern Mpumalanga).

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
High-pitched, squeaky and slurred whistles. Mimics Violet-eared Waxbill (Granatina granatina).

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (9)...)

Shaft-tailed Whydah (Vidua regia) [XC571565]
by Tony Archer from City of Matlosana (near Klerksdorp), Southern DC, North West, South Africa (alarm call)

Shaft-tailed Whydah (Vidua) [XC863398]
by Tony Archer from Madibeng (near Ga-Rasai), Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, North West, South Africa (song)

Subspecies
No subspecies.

Along with Straw-tailed Whydah (Vidua fischeri) sometimes placed together in a separate genus Tetraenura. The two have been thought to form a superspecies. Occasionally hybridizes with indigobirds (species undetermined) in the wild. Birds in southern Mozambique described as subspecies woltersi, but do not differ constantly in plumage colour from those elsewhere in species' range.

References
See References.

Files:

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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