The long-tailed paradise whydah or eastern paradise whydah (Vidua paradisaea) is from the family Viduidae of the order Passeriformes. They are small passerines with short, stubby bills found across Sub-Saharan Africa. They are mostly granivorous and feed on seeds that have ripen and fall on the ground. The ability to distinguish between males and females is quite difficult unless it is breeding season. During this time, the males molt into breeding plumage where they have one distinctive feature which is their long tail. It can grow up to three times longer than its own body or even more. Usually, the whydahs look like ordinary sparrows with short tails during the non-breeding season. In addition, hybridization can occur with these paradise whydahs. Males are able to mimic songs where females can use that to discover their mate. However, there are some cases where females don't use songs to choose their mate but they use either male characteristics like plumages or they can have a shortage of options with song mimicry. Paradise whydahs are brood parasites. They won't destroy the eggs that are originally there but will lay their own eggs in other songbirds nest. Overall, these whydahs are considered least concerned based on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
The long-tailed paradise whydahs are brood-parasitic birds along with the rest of the species in the family Viduidae. Primary host species include the Viduidae and the Estrildidae, also known as the waxbills. They diverged about 20 million years ago.[4] Most have included Viduidae within Estrilididae or Ploceidae (weavers) in a subfamily of its own.[5] Similarly, Anomalospiza have been switched around between the two families and have not been linked with Vidua.[5] However, studies has shown that the skull, the bony palate, the horny palate and the pterylosis are some of the morphological characters that support a close relationship between Anomalospiza and Vidua which are different from the weavers.[4] Indigobirds are also part of the family Viduidae. The long-tailed whydah's relationship with the indigobirds are not very well-known. The indigobirds are more closely related to the straw-tailed whydah based on their phylogenetic relationship where researchers analyzed mitochondrial restriction sites and nucleotide sequences.[4]
Descriptionedit
Viduidae species differ from one another in size, in breeding plumage and color, and in the songs used for mating.[4] These long-tailed paradise whydahs are hard to distinguish between males and females. Usually these paradise whydah finches grow to about 13 centimeters in length and weigh about 21 grams.[4] Female whydahs tend to have a grey bill and feathers that are greyish-brown with blackish streaks along with their under tail feather being more white.[4] Similarly, males during the non-breeding season tend to have mostly browner plumage with black stripes on the crown, black parts along the face, and deeper brown color for the chest and creamer color for the abdomen[4] However, breeding males have black heads and back, the rusty colored breast, a bright yellow nape, and white abdomen with broad, elongated black tail feathers that can grow up to 36 centimeters or more.[4]
Male in breeding plumage
Male going into breeding
Female
Distribution and habitatedit
The long-tailed paradise whydahs are found in grassland, savanna and open woodland where they live in bushed grassland around cultivation.[4] Majority of the time, these whydahs stay away from surface waters.[4]
Behavior and ecologyedit
The long-tailed paradise whydah are known to be brood parasites where they would lay their eggs in nests of other songbirds.[4][6] Furthermore, they usually roost together in flocks during both breeding and non-breeding seasons.[4] Males develop the ability to mimic songs of their host.[7][8] Studies showed that female whydahs respond more strongly to songs mimicked by males of their own species than they do to closely related species.[9][10][11] Females use this mimicry to eliminate among potential mates and prefer those raised by the same host species.[8][12] Researchers discovered that hybridization can occur when female whydahs do not choose mates based on their song mimicry but instead on male traits such as plumage and flight displays if it is more important to them than song, or is restricted by the availability of males singing the appropriate host songs or if males is involved with unsolicited copulation with females of other parasitic species.[8][13][14] Researchers discovered that these paradise whydahs mimic the songs of Melba Finch.[8][7]
Long-tailed paradise whydah foraging for seeds on the ground
Additionally, these paradise whydahs are granivorous where they feed on small seed that ripen and fall on the ground.[4] For foraging, these finches use something called “double scratch” where they utilize both of their feet almost simultaneously scratching the ground to find seeds in dust and hop backwards to pick up the seed.[4] Another technique they use is their tongue. They would dehusks grass seeds with their bill rolling the seeds with their tongue one at a time back and forth against the ridge of the palate.[4]
Relationship to humansedit
Whydahs in general are known to be kept as cage birds for their song and colorful breeding plumage for many years.[4] In 1581, a renaissance scholar named Michel de Montaigne visited Florence where he was able to see these paradise whydahs in the Medici aviaries.[4] He described them with la cue deus longues plumes comme celles d’un chapon which in translation meant “a tail of two long plumes like those of a rooster”.[4] Ligozzi, a chief botanical painter of the Medici aviaries, illustrated a painting of the common fig where people later identified that the two birds in the painting were actually the paradise whydah and the indigobird.[4] Other than the beauty, the paradise whydahs can be a nuisance especially for farmers. For instance, in the highlands of Guinea and Sierra Leone, these paradise whydahs feed on small seeds of cultivated fonio which is known as “acha” or “hungry rice” before they can be harvested and that also happens to be the first food source available to the human inhabitants after the season of rains.[4]
Statusedit
Widespread throughout its large range, the long-tailed paradise whydah is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Referencesedit
^BirdLife International (2018). "Vidua paradisaea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22720012A132135621. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22720012A132135621.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
^Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 178.
^Cuvier, Georges (1816). Le Règne animal distribué d'après son organisation : pour servir de base a l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction a l'anatomie comparée (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Déterville. pp. 388–389.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstJohn, Roy (2011-01-01). ""Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 15. Weavers to New World Warblers" edited by Josep del Hoyo et al. 2008. [book review]". The Canadian Field-Naturalist. 125 (1): 83. doi:10.22621/cfn.v125i1.1139. ISSN 0008-3550.
^ abChapin, James P. (October 1929). "Nomenclature and Systematic Position of the Paradise Whydahs". The Auk. 46 (4): 474–484. doi:10.2307/4076183. ISSN 0004-8038. JSTOR 4076183.
^Payne, Robert B.; Payne, Laura L.; Woods, Jean L.; Sorenson, Michael D. (January 2000). "Imprinting and the origin of parasite–host species associations in brood-parasitic indigobirds, Vidua chalybeata". Animal Behaviour. 59 (1): 69–81. doi:10.1006/anbe.1999.1283. ISSN 0003-3472. PMID 10640368. S2CID 22363915.
^ abPAYNE, ROBERT B; PAYNE, LAURA L; WOODS, JEAN L (June 1998). "Song learning in brood-parasitic indigobirdsVidua chalybeata: song mimicry of the host species". Animal Behaviour. 55 (6): 1537–1553. doi:10.1006/anbe.1997.0701. ISSN 0003-3472. PMID 9641999. S2CID 17693319.
^ abcdPayne, Robert B.; Sorenson, Michael D. (2004). "Behavioral and Genetic Identification of a Hybrid Vidua: Maternal Origin and Mate Choice in a Brood-Parasitic Finch". The Auk. 121 (1): 156. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0156:bagioa]2.0.co;2. ISSN 0004-8038. S2CID 84524204.
^Payne, Robert B. (1980). Behavior and Songs of Hybrid Parasitic Finches. OCLC 869799441.
^Payne, Robert B. (January 1973). "Behavior, Mimetic Songs and Song Dialects, and Relationships of the Parasitic Indigobirds (Vidua) of Africa". Ornithological Monographs (11): ii–333. doi:10.2307/40166751. ISSN 0078-6594. JSTOR 40166751. S2CID 84118406.
^Payne, R.B. (November 1973). "Vocal mimicry of the paraside whydahs (Vidua) and response of female whydahs to the songs of their hosts (Pytilia) and their mimics". Animal Behaviour. 21 (4): 762–771. doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(73)80102-2. ISSN 0003-3472.
^Oakes, Edward J.; Barnard, Phoebe (October 1994). "Fluctuating asymmetry and mate choice in paradise whydahs, Vidua paradisaea: an experimental manipulation". Animal Behaviour. 48 (4): 937–943. doi:10.1006/anbe.1994.1319. ISSN 0003-3472. S2CID 53195903.
^Grant, Peter R.; Grant, B. Rosemary (January 1997). "Hybridization, Sexual Imprinting, and Mate Choice". The American Naturalist. 149 (1): 1–28. doi:10.1086/285976. ISSN 0003-0147. S2CID 83665115.
^Barnard, Phoebe (April 1990). "Male tail length, sexual display intensity and female sexual response in a parasitic African finch". Animal Behaviour. 39 (4): 652–656. doi:10.1016/s0003-3472(05)80376-8. ISSN 0003-3472. S2CID 54339389.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vidua paradisaea.
The Paradise Whydahs Species Factsheet
BirdLife Species Factsheet
May 03, 2024
long, tailed, paradise, whydah, long, tailed, paradise, whydah, eastern, paradise, whydah, vidua, paradisaea, from, family, viduidae, order, passeriformes, they, small, passerines, with, short, stubby, bills, found, across, saharan, africa, they, mostly, grani. The long tailed paradise whydah or eastern paradise whydah Vidua paradisaea is from the family Viduidae of the order Passeriformes They are small passerines with short stubby bills found across Sub Saharan Africa They are mostly granivorous and feed on seeds that have ripen and fall on the ground The ability to distinguish between males and females is quite difficult unless it is breeding season During this time the males molt into breeding plumage where they have one distinctive feature which is their long tail It can grow up to three times longer than its own body or even more Usually the whydahs look like ordinary sparrows with short tails during the non breeding season In addition hybridization can occur with these paradise whydahs Males are able to mimic songs where females can use that to discover their mate However there are some cases where females don t use songs to choose their mate but they use either male characteristics like plumages or they can have a shortage of options with song mimicry Paradise whydahs are brood parasites They won t destroy the eggs that are originally there but will lay their own eggs in other songbirds nest Overall these whydahs are considered least concerned based on the IUCN Red List of threatened species Long tailed paradise whydah Male Chobe National Park Botswana Conservation status Least Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Aves Order Passeriformes Family Viduidae Genus Vidua Species V paradisaea Binomial name Vidua paradisaea Linnaeus 1758 resident range Synonyms Emberiza paradisaea Linnaeus 1758 Contents 1 Taxonomy and systematics 2 Description 3 Distribution and habitat 4 Behavior and ecology 5 Relationship to humans 6 Status 7 References 8 External linksTaxonomy and systematics editThe long tailed paradise whydah was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Emberiza paradisaea 2 It is now placed in the genus Vidua that was introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1816 3 The long tailed paradise whydahs are brood parasitic birds along with the rest of the species in the family Viduidae Primary host species include the Viduidae and the Estrildidae also known as the waxbills They diverged about 20 million years ago 4 Most have included Viduidae within Estrilididae or Ploceidae weavers in a subfamily of its own 5 Similarly Anomalospiza have been switched around between the two families and have not been linked with Vidua 5 However studies has shown that the skull the bony palate the horny palate and the pterylosis are some of the morphological characters that support a close relationship between Anomalospiza and Vidua which are different from the weavers 4 Indigobirds are also part of the family Viduidae The long tailed whydah s relationship with the indigobirds are not very well known The indigobirds are more closely related to the straw tailed whydah based on their phylogenetic relationship where researchers analyzed mitochondrial restriction sites and nucleotide sequences 4 Description editViduidae species differ from one another in size in breeding plumage and color and in the songs used for mating 4 These long tailed paradise whydahs are hard to distinguish between males and females Usually these paradise whydah finches grow to about 13 centimeters in length and weigh about 21 grams 4 Female whydahs tend to have a grey bill and feathers that are greyish brown with blackish streaks along with their under tail feather being more white 4 Similarly males during the non breeding season tend to have mostly browner plumage with black stripes on the crown black parts along the face and deeper brown color for the chest and creamer color for the abdomen 4 However breeding males have black heads and back the rusty colored breast a bright yellow nape and white abdomen with broad elongated black tail feathers that can grow up to 36 centimeters or more 4 nbsp Male in breeding plumage nbsp Male going into breeding nbsp FemaleDistribution and habitat editThe long tailed paradise whydahs are found in grassland savanna and open woodland where they live in bushed grassland around cultivation 4 Majority of the time these whydahs stay away from surface waters 4 Behavior and ecology editThe long tailed paradise whydah are known to be brood parasites where they would lay their eggs in nests of other songbirds 4 6 Furthermore they usually roost together in flocks during both breeding and non breeding seasons 4 Males develop the ability to mimic songs of their host 7 8 Studies showed that female whydahs respond more strongly to songs mimicked by males of their own species than they do to closely related species 9 10 11 Females use this mimicry to eliminate among potential mates and prefer those raised by the same host species 8 12 Researchers discovered that hybridization can occur when female whydahs do not choose mates based on their song mimicry but instead on male traits such as plumage and flight displays if it is more important to them than song or is restricted by the availability of males singing the appropriate host songs or if males is involved with unsolicited copulation with females of other parasitic species 8 13 14 Researchers discovered that these paradise whydahs mimic the songs of Melba Finch 8 7 nbsp Long tailed paradise whydah foraging for seeds on the ground Additionally these paradise whydahs are granivorous where they feed on small seed that ripen and fall on the ground 4 For foraging these finches use something called double scratch where they utilize both of their feet almost simultaneously scratching the ground to find seeds in dust and hop backwards to pick up the seed 4 Another technique they use is their tongue They would dehusks grass seeds with their bill rolling the seeds with their tongue one at a time back and forth against the ridge of the palate 4 Relationship to humans editWhydahs in general are known to be kept as cage birds for their song and colorful breeding plumage for many years 4 In 1581 a renaissance scholar named Michel de Montaigne visited Florence where he was able to see these paradise whydahs in the Medici aviaries 4 He described them with la cue deus longues plumes comme celles d un chapon which in translation meant a tail of two long plumes like those of a rooster 4 Ligozzi a chief botanical painter of the Medici aviaries illustrated a painting of the common fig where people later identified that the two birds in the painting were actually the paradise whydah and the indigobird 4 Other than the beauty the paradise whydahs can be a nuisance especially for farmers For instance in the highlands of Guinea and Sierra Leone these paradise whydahs feed on small seeds of cultivated fonio which is known as acha or hungry rice before they can be harvested and that also happens to be the first food source available to the human inhabitants after the season of rains 4 Status editWidespread throughout its large range the long tailed paradise whydah is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species References edit BirdLife International 2018 Vidua paradisaea IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018 e T22720012A132135621 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2018 2 RLTS T22720012A132135621 en Retrieved 11 November 2021 Linnaeus Carl 1758 Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae secundum classes ordines genera species cum characteribus differentiis synonymis locis in Latin Vol 1 10th ed Holmiae Stockholm Laurentii Salvii p 178 Cuvier Georges 1816 Le Regne animal distribue d apres son organisation pour servir de base a l histoire naturelle des animaux et d introduction a l anatomie comparee in French Vol 1 Paris Deterville pp 388 389 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t John Roy 2011 01 01 Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 15 Weavers to New World Warblers edited by Josep del Hoyo et al 2008 book review The Canadian Field Naturalist 125 1 83 doi 10 22621 cfn v125i1 1139 ISSN 0008 3550 a b Chapin James P October 1929 Nomenclature and Systematic Position of the Paradise Whydahs The Auk 46 4 474 484 doi 10 2307 4076183 ISSN 0004 8038 JSTOR 4076183 Payne Robert B Payne Laura L Woods Jean L Sorenson Michael D January 2000 Imprinting and the origin of parasite host species associations in brood parasitic indigobirds Vidua chalybeata Animal Behaviour 59 1 69 81 doi 10 1006 anbe 1999 1283 ISSN 0003 3472 PMID 10640368 S2CID 22363915 a b PAYNE ROBERT B PAYNE LAURA L WOODS JEAN L June 1998 Song learning in brood parasitic indigobirdsVidua chalybeata song mimicry of the host species Animal Behaviour 55 6 1537 1553 doi 10 1006 anbe 1997 0701 ISSN 0003 3472 PMID 9641999 S2CID 17693319 a b c d Payne Robert B Sorenson Michael D 2004 Behavioral and Genetic Identification of a Hybrid Vidua Maternal Origin and Mate Choice in a Brood Parasitic Finch The Auk 121 1 156 doi 10 1642 0004 8038 2004 121 0156 bagioa 2 0 co 2 ISSN 0004 8038 S2CID 84524204 Payne Robert B 1980 Behavior and Songs of Hybrid Parasitic Finches OCLC 869799441 Payne Robert B January 1973 Behavior Mimetic Songs and Song Dialects and Relationships of the Parasitic Indigobirds Vidua of Africa Ornithological Monographs 11 ii 333 doi 10 2307 40166751 ISSN 0078 6594 JSTOR 40166751 S2CID 84118406 Payne R B November 1973 Vocal mimicry of the paraside whydahs Vidua and response of female whydahs to the songs of their hosts Pytilia and their mimics Animal Behaviour 21 4 762 771 doi 10 1016 s0003 3472 73 80102 2 ISSN 0003 3472 Oakes Edward J Barnard Phoebe October 1994 Fluctuating asymmetry and mate choice in paradise whydahs Vidua paradisaea an experimental manipulation Animal Behaviour 48 4 937 943 doi 10 1006 anbe 1994 1319 ISSN 0003 3472 S2CID 53195903 Grant Peter R Grant B Rosemary January 1997 Hybridization Sexual Imprinting and Mate Choice The American Naturalist 149 1 1 28 doi 10 1086 285976 ISSN 0003 0147 S2CID 83665115 Barnard Phoebe April 1990 Male tail length sexual display intensity and female sexual response in a parasitic African finch Animal Behaviour 39 4 652 656 doi 10 1016 s0003 3472 05 80376 8 ISSN 0003 3472 S2CID 54339389 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vidua paradisaea The Paradise Whydahs Species Factsheet BirdLife Species Factsheet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Long tailed paradise whydah amp oldid 1212393350, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
