Vidua fischeri
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The straw-tailed whydah (Vidua fischeri) is a species of bird in the family Viduidae. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is dry savanna. Like all other whydah species, the straw-tailed whydah is a brood parasite. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 8 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 11 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Straw-tailed Whydah sighting in Mkomazi National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 101st most-seen of the 272 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and March–April
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Straw-tailed Whydah in Mkomazi National Park on a given day, against about 10% in June and August–October, the lowest months. Those are among Mkomazi National Park's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in July. May has too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Straw-tailed Whydah sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Straw-tailed Whydah sightings, Mkomazi National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 20%).
Same genus: Vidua
The closest relatives of the Straw-tailed Whydah that you can see in Mkomazi National Park (genus Vidua, Indigobirds and Whydahs) are Pin-tailed Whydah (about 30%), Long-tailed Paradise Whydah (about 30%) and Village Indigobird (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Straw-tailed Whydah is recorded against all the birds logged in Mkomazi National Park (31 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
