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- Togo Paradise-Whydah
© Pat McKay
- Togo Paradise-Whydah
- Togo Paradise-Whydah
- Togo Paradise-Whydah
- Togo Paradise-Whydah
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- Togo Paradise-Whydah
- Togo Paradise-Whydah

Togo Paradise-Whydah Vidua togoensis Scientific name definitions

Robert B. Payne
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated June 18, 2013

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

c. 12·5 cm, breeding male 40–43 cm. Male breeding has top and side of head black, nape yellow, upperparts black, throat black, upper breast light rust-coloured, lower breast and belly yellowish; tail black, elongated central two feather pairs (T1 and T2) twisted vertically to form a flag, T2 exceptionally long and narrow and with width nearly uniform throughout its length; iris dark brown; bill black; legs dark brown-grey to grey. Differs from V. interjecta and V. orientalis mainly in having long tail narrower than depth of body (not as broad as, or broader than, body), nape yellow (not red-brown), extent of uniform yellow of underparts generally more extensive. Non-breeding male poorly known, has pale and dark head stripes, black mark around rear ear-coverts, dark-streaked brown upperparts, whitish below, buff breast; similar to non-breeding male V. interjecta. Female apparently undescribed, probably similar to non-breeding male. Juvenile is plain grey above, paler below, tail rounded to slightly graduated; bill reddish at base, tip dark.

Systematics History

Formerly considered conspecific with V. paradisaea, V. obtusa, V. orientalis and V. interjecta, and all sometimes placed in a separate genus Steganura. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Guinea, Sierra Leone, N Liberia, S Mali, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, N Benin (one record) (1) and Cameroon.

Habitat

Open woodland and cultivation.

Movement

No information.

Diet and Foraging

Small grass seeds, taken from ground.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song mimics that of Yellow-winged Pytilia (Pytilia hypogrammica), a two-part trill, first slow and then fast, with no change in pitch, rather than buzz-trill of Red-winged Pytilia (Pytilia phoenicoptera). Gives chatters and non-mimetic calls like those of V. interjecta.

Breeding

Little known. Males in breeding plumage and courting females in Oct in Ghana, and in breeding plumage in Oct in Guinea and Dec in Sierra Leone. Presumably brood-parasitic, but no field observations; distribution and song mimicry suggest that host would be Yellow-winged Pytilia; report of brood parasitism of latter by present species in SE Nigeria, however, is referable to V. interjecta. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Scarce throughout its range. Estimated global area of occurrence said to be 420,000 km2, but this based on a questionable range map. Recent sightings (1973–2000) in Dalaba, in S Guinea, at Kabala, in Sierra Leone, and at Gambaga, Kyabobo and Mole National Park, in Ghana; at last-mentioned site, sympatric with V. interjecta and with possible hosts Yellow-winged and Red-winged Pytilias. Paradise-whydahs seen at Wologezi, in N Liberia, likely to be of present species; further fieldwork required. Reports from Mali and Cameroon considered of questionable validity.
Distribution of the Togo Paradise-Whydah - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Togo Paradise-Whydah

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Payne, R. B. (2020). Togo Paradise-Whydah (Vidua togoensis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.topwhy1.01
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