Shaft-Tailed Whydah

The Shaft-Tailed Wydah is a smaller whydah with a reddish-orange bill and legs. A breeding male has puffy-orange underparts and neck, a dark cap, and about 17-centimeter-long black tail feathers, where as the female and non-breeding male have streaky upper-parts and pale puffy underparts. Breeding males hold territories in dry thorn scrub, but form flocks with other seedeaters after breeding. They imitates the song of the Violet-eared Waxbill, which it brood parasites from. They differs from other Pin-tailed Whydah by Shaft-tailed Whydah's duller pink bill and streakier head in female and non-breeding male plumage, and black-and-buff plumage of the breeding male.

Normally found in the grasslands of Southern Africa and their diet consists mainly of seeds.