whydah

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whyd·ah

also whid·ah (wĭd′ə, hwĭd′ə)

Any of several African songbirds of the genus Vidua, the male of which grows long, drooping, predominantly black tail feathers during the breeding season. Also called widow bird.

[Probably alteration of widow (bird).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

whydah

(ˈwɪdə) or

whidah

(Animals) any of various predominantly black African weaverbirds of the genus Vidua and related genera, the males of which grow very long tail feathers in the breeding season. Also called: whydah bird, whidah bird or widow bird

[C18: after the name of a town in Benin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

whyd•ah

(ˈʰwɪd ə, ˈwɪd ə)

n.

1. any of several African finches of the subfamily Viduinae (family Estrildidae), the males of which grow long central tail feathers during the breeding season.

2. any of several African weavers of the genus Euplectes, the males of which have similar long tails.

[1775–85; alter. of widow (bird) to make name agree with that of a town in Benin, West Africa]

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Noun

whydah - mostly black African weaverbird

whidah, widow bird

weaver finch, weaverbird, weaver - finch-like African and Asian colonial birds noted for their elaborately woven nests

genus Vidua, Vidua - whydahs

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References in periodicals archive ?

Paradise whydahs, not in colour 10/-pair, in colour15/-pair, tail imperfection

The Well-Stocked and Gilded Cage: Psittaculture Nervosa

Murray, hatter: "Lid a limpet's fleas?" "Where?" "Whydahs know!" "Endeavour worth it, Murray?" "When dull, am wish herd dug." "Oh, heave hallowed herd task!" ...

Hail Mary, full of constraints

Sushkin (1927) concluded that the waxbills were most closely related to the whydahs (Vidua), but belonged as a subfamily in the Ploceidae.

Skeletal characters and the systematics of Estrildid finches (Aves: Estrildidae)

The models were tested in two species groups of Vidua finches, the indigobirds and the paradise whydahs, and in their host species.

Evolutionary associations of brood parasitic finches (Vidua) and their host species: analyses of mitochondrial DNA restriction sites

Additional chapters include descriptions of bustards (arid-adapted Old World species); kakapos (a New Zealand nocturnal parrot), hummingbirds, and lyrebirds (Australian mimics); and African long-tailed whydahs and widowbirds.

Arena Birds: Sexual Selection and Behavior

Their results for three species of whydahs show that males and females differ by 25 to 41 phenotypic standard deviations.