Steganura paradisaea

ORIGIN:

Throughout Ethiopia. Inhabits dry thorn scrub and open or woodland savanna.

DIET:

Feeds on large grass seeds such as millet, wild oats and spinifex along with the occasional termite and grubs. May feed on the ground or in bushes where grasses have grown winding and tangled in the branches.

SPECIFIC FEATURES:

During the breeding season, this species is dichromatic and dimorphic. The male's nuptial plumage is glossy black on his head, back, wings, and tail while the upper chest is a vibrant rust color graduating to a white abdomen.

For this special occasion, (mating) he also grows new tail feathers which reach of length of up to l4 inches. They may be very aggressive during this cycle. Once the season is over, however, he goes "out of color" and resembles the sparrow-like hens and juvenile males while becoming much more docile.

REPRODUCTION:

This species is both polygamous and parasitic in its breeding biology. One male may mate with 10 or 12 females in a given season. As they lay their eggs in other birds' nests (usually the Green-winged Pytilia), there are no nursery chores to perform and they are free to distribute their gene pool widely, time and energy not being taken up with raising offspring.

PARADISE WHYDAHS IN CAPTIVITY

HABITAT DESIGN:

Much of the information in the facing column about Pintails applies to Paradise Whydahs, as well. Their tails, however, are much fuller in design than the previous species and plenty of open perching must be provided if they are to stay in good condition throughout the in-color phase. They are also a bit more boldly aggressive and need plenty of space if serious fighting is to be avoided.

DIET:

The same diet applies, although this species will often scarf down the insects, even though they do not need them for feeding young. Keep this factor in mind when allotting the insect rations so that the more shy melba, or green winged pytilias (the host species), get enough for the growing chicks.

BREEDING:

As mentioned, the melba, or green-winged pytilia, is the host species for these whydahs. They are not the easiest species to entice to breed themselves, but certainly worth a try. The big problem the keeper is faced with here is that both species, the host and the parasite, are valuable and getting hard to come by in aviculture.

Should it be necessary to choose between which of the two species' chicks the melbas are going to be allowed to raise, it's a tough call. If there are enough pairs of melbas, you may decide to transfer the melba checks to some nests while leaving the whydahs with other pairs. That way, there will be no species competition in one nest and the possibility of raising both species is greatly enhanced.

It should be mentioned that keeping one male whydah to three of four hens seems to work best. If you are lucky enough to have many hens, you may increase the number of mates but only over three. Two males will often fight to the death, one being able to overpower one other adversary whereas one male against two or three others usually keeps them all in line.

With all whydahs (or any bird that goes in and out of color) it is best to be sure your breeding adults are banded since when the males go out of color at the end of the breeding season they look just like the adult hens. If you should loose a bird when the colony is in this color phase, you may not know you have lost your breeding male until no one colors up when the time comes.