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Where to see

Where to see the Pin-tailed Whydah in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the Pin-tailed Whydah at stays in or beside Goukamma Nature Reserve, Kruger National Park and Kwandwe Private Game Reserve.

Vidua macroura

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Pin-tailed Whydah
Photo: (c) James M. Maley, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by James M. Maley

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Pin-tailed Whydah

Hosts have recorded the Pin-tailed Whydah at stays in or beside Goukamma Nature Reserve, Kruger National Park and Kwandwe Private Game Reserve.

Best hours of the day

  • The first hours after sunrise, and late afternoon. Birds call and feed most in the cool.
  • Midday. Quieter, especially in summer heat.

Where to base yourself

  • Western Cape

    Western Cape

    Goukamma · Rocherpan · De Hoop

    Self-driveMalaria-free
    Stays in Western Cape
    Western Cape
  • Limpopo

    Limpopo

    Kruger

    Self-drive
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo
  • Eastern Cape

    Eastern Cape

    Kwandwe

    Guided drivesMalaria-free
    Stays in Eastern Cape
    Eastern Cape
  • KwaZulu-Natal

    KwaZulu-Natal

    Hluhluwe-Imfolozi

    Stays in KwaZulu-Natal
    KwaZulu-Natal

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

GoukammaKrugerRocherpanDe HoopGrootvadersbosch

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Kwandwe

Species

Vidua macroura

Records

2,978

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the Pin-tailed Whydah on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

Which parks and reserves are best for the Pin-tailed Whydah in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Pin-tailed Whydah at stays in or beside Goukamma Nature Reserve, Kruger National Park, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, Rocherpan Nature Reserve, De Hoop Nature Reserve and Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

Where can you see the Pin-tailed Whydah in South Africa?

The Pin-tailed Whydah is most recorded in Western Cape (45% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (21% of records), Gauteng (12% of records), based on 2,978 iNaturalist observations. 72 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Pin-tailed Whydah on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the Pin-tailed Whydah?

The Pin-tailed Whydah is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Goukamma Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr; Kruger National Park: Apr-Sep; Kwandwe Private Game Reserve: year-round, best Mar-May, Sep-Nov; Rocherpan Nature Reserve: Winter and spring for birds and flowers, Jun-Oct. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

What is the Pin-tailed Whydah?

The pin-tailed whydah (Vidua macroura) is a small songbird with a conspicuous pennant-like tail in breeding males. It is a resident breeding bird in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the Pin-tailed Whydah

Every stay on the Pin-tailed Whydah page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.

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