Whydahs and Indigobirds (Viduidae)

Pin-tailed Whydah (Vidua macroura) - HBW 15, p. 219

French: Veuve dominicaine German: Dominikanerwitwe Spanish: Viuda Colicinta
Other common names: Pin-tailed Widow

Taxonomy: Fringilla (macroura) Pallas, 1764, East Indies; error =Angola.
Supposedly paler birds in S of range described as race arenosa, but not constantly different in plumage colour from birds in W & E Africa. Monotypic.

Distribution: Sub-Saharan Africa except in driest regions: S Mauritania S to Liberia, E to Mali and S Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon, NE & S Chad (Ennedi Massif and S Ouaddai region), Central African Republic, C & S and Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, and from Gulf of Guinea (islands of Bioko and São Tomé) E to Kenya, C & S Somalia, Tanzania and Zanzibar, and S to Namibia, N & E Botswana and South Africa.Introduced on Puerto Rico, in Caribbean.