Most people are familiar with the nest parasitism – or brood parasitism – that is shown by our cuckoos, such as the Jacobin cuckoo and Diederik Cuckoos, where the birds lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species. These other species, the hosts, then feed and rear the young as if they were their own offspring. There are two other groups of birds in our area that are also brood-parasites, the family Viduidae (indigobirds, whydahs, and cuckoo-finch) and the family Indicatoridae (honeyguides). In this article we will focus on the Viduidae, a family that is well represented in the Hoedspruit area including three species each of indigobirds and whydahs.
The Viduidae comprises small, finch-like perching birds birds that are native to Africa. All species in this family are dimorphic, which means that there are significant differences between males and females. In the indigobirds, males have predominantly black or indigo colours in their plumage, while in whydahs breeding males have have long and sometimes ornate tails. In the cuckofinch, males are bright yellow with a black bill in the breeding season. Females of all species are brownish, do not have long tails, are much better camouflaged than the breeding males. Males lose their breeding plumage outside the breeding season, and become much more like females in appearance.
https://learnthebirds.com/viduidae/
维达鸟科（学名：Viduidae） 有1属19种。生活于热带草原和疏林中，喜结群活动。主食果实、种子和嫩芽，也吃昆虫和蠕虫。不筑巢，是巢寄生者，寄主相对稳定，主要是梅花雀科的鸟类，幼鸟由寄主喂养长大。因常发现于贝宁的维达镇，故得名。维达鸟虽为小鸟，但长尾所占鸟体的比例绝对是鸟中之最，这种鸟其貌不扬，尾羽却难得一见，雄鸟主要呈黑色，4根中尾羽极长，以尾羽冠压雀类之首，也是非洲著名的鸟种之一，主要分布于非洲热带
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1. Pin-tailed Whydah, 针尾维达雀, 針尾維達雀, Vidua macroura, テンニンチョウ
2. Shaft-tailed Whydah, 箭尾維達雀, 箭尾维达雀, Vidua regia, ミカドスズメ
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1. Pin-tailed Whydah, 针尾维达雀, 針尾維達雀, Vidua macroura, テンニンチョウ
update 202501
While busy recovering some accidentally deleted pictures, I wanted to share part of a full series capturing this beautiful long-tailed bird’s display and mating behavior. I really enjoy watching how this bird performs—it sometimes flies vertically, resembling a stick in motion.
在忙着恢复一些意外删除的照片时，我想分享这一整套系列中的部分内容，捕捉了这只美丽的长尾鸟展示和求偶的画面。我非常喜欢观看这只鸟的表演——它有时会垂直飞行，像一根竖直的棍子一样。
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CANON R1, CANON RF100500mm, 1.4x South Africa update 202501 Finally, I’m back from my South Africa tour! One of the most fascinating “common” birds we encountered was the Pin-tailed Whydah. While it’s not a rare species, its long tail and unique flying style captured our attention more than any other bird. This particular moment happened while we were in the car—yes, shooting handheld through the window! After taking hundreds of photos of the male flying, displaying, and mating, I decided to switch to video. Although I recorded in 4K 60p, I slowed down the second half to highlight the incredible beauty of its dance. 终于从南非之旅回来了！旅途中看到的最迷人的“常见”鸟类之一就是针尾维达雀。虽然它并不罕见，但它那长长的尾巴和独特的飞行姿态比其他任何鸟类都更吸引我们的目光。这段拍摄是在车里完成的——是的，手持相机透过车窗拍摄！拍了几百张照片，记录下雄鸟飞行、炫耀和交配的瞬间后，我决定拍摄视频。虽然我用4K 60帧录制，但在后半部分慢放，展现它舞蹈的惊人美感。
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A male bird with a very long tail, black-and-white plumage, and a striking red beak is hard to miss. While the local guide claimed it was common, we didn’t spot many during our first seven days. However, we were fortunate to see one performing a display for a female, which thrilled everyone. Capturing the moment from the car was quite challenging, but it was an unforgettable experience.
一只拥有非常长尾巴、黑白羽毛和鲜红喙的雄鸟，非常显眼。虽然当地向导说这种鸟很常见，但我们在前七天里并没有看到很多。不过，我们很幸运看到了一只正在为雌鸟表演。这让我们所有人都非常兴奋，而在车内拍摄这景象也是一个不小的挑战，但这是一次难忘的经历。
2. Shaft-tailed Whydah, 箭尾維達雀, 箭尾维达雀, Vidua regia, ミカドスズメ
A small whydah with a reddish-orange bill and legs. The breeding male has buffy-orange underparts and neck, a dark cap, and 17-centimeter-long black tail feathers. The female and non-breeding male have streaky upperparts and pale buffy underparts. Breeding males hold territories in dry thorn scrub, but form flocks with other seedeaters after breeding. The species imitates the song of the Violet-eared Waxbill, which it parasitizes. Differs from the similar Pin-tailed Whydah by Shaft-tailed Whydah’s duller pink bill and streakier head in female and non-breeding male plumages, and black-and-buff plumage of the breeding male. [EBird]
一种小型织雀，具有橙红色的嘴和腿。繁殖期的雄鸟腹部和颈部呈橙黄色，头部为深色，并具有长达17厘米的黑色尾羽。雌鸟和非繁殖期的雄鸟则具有上部的条纹花纹和浅橙黄色的腹部。繁殖期的雄鸟在干燥的荆棘灌丛中占领领地，但繁殖后会与其他食种子鸟类混群。该物种模仿其寄生对象——紫耳蜡嘴雀的鸣叫声。与相似的针尾织雀相比，轴尾织雀的嘴较暗淡，为粉红色，雌鸟和非繁殖期雄鸟头部条纹更多，而繁殖期雄鸟则呈黑色与橙黄色的羽毛。
update 202501
What a beautiful little bird with its unique four racket-shaped tail feathers! Unfortunately, I couldn’t manage to capture any great shots of it this time. It’s definitely on my photography bucket list if I get the chance to visit Africa again. Despite the whole day of rain, we were lucky enough to witness some wonderful moments of it in flight.
Anyone want join me next visit ?
多么美丽的小鸟，拥有独特的四根球拍状尾羽！可惜这次没能拍到好的照片。如果有机会再来非洲，它绝对是我的摄影目标之一。尽管下了一整天的雨，我们还是很幸运地见到了它飞行的美好瞬间。
有人要来看他吗？
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