Vidua fischeri
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Straw-tailed Whydah sighting in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, based on 265 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 157th most-seen of the 519 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Straw-tailed Whydah in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, against under 5% in May to January, the lowest months. That is one of Ngorongoro Conservation Area's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against almost none in July.
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.
4th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Straw-tailed Whydah sightings, Ngorongoro Conservation Area ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 20%), Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 20%) and Serengeti National Park (Tanzania, about 10%).
Same genus: Vidua
The closest relatives of the Straw-tailed Whydah that you can see in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (genus Vidua, Indigobirds and Whydahs) are Pin-tailed Whydah (about 20%) and Steel-blue Whydah (about 10%), 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 Ngorongoro Conservation Area (265 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.
