whydah

noun

whyd·ah | \ ˈhwi-də

How to pronounce whydah (audio)

, ˈwi-\

Definition of whydah

: any of various mostly brownish African passerine birds (genera Euplectes and Vidua) often kept as cage birds and distinguished in the male by black-and-white plumage and by long tail feathers during the breeding season

Examples of whydah in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While having a beautiful bird might not seem like much of a problem, the whydah is one of only about 100 parasitic birds in the world. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "This Beautiful Species Could Be Trouble for Native Birds," 30 June 2017 The flashy whydah, Vidua macroura, is a native of sub-Saharan Africa. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "This Beautiful Species Could Be Trouble for Native Birds," 30 June 2017 The flashy whydah, Vidua macroura, is a native of sub-Saharan Africa. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "This Beautiful Species Could Be Trouble for Native Birds," 30 June 2017 The availability of a host will also determine whether Florida becomes the U.S.’s third whydah population. — Jenny Staletovich, miamiherald, "Exotic bird makes SoFla scene. Its equally exotic sex dance could spell trouble for natives," 25 Oct. 2017 The flashy whydah, Vidua macroura, is a native of sub-Saharan Africa. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "This Beautiful Species Could Be Trouble for Native Birds," 30 June 2017 The flashy whydah, Vidua macroura, is a native of sub-Saharan Africa. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "This Beautiful Species Could Be Trouble for Native Birds," 30 June 2017 So Hammer checked with a birder friend who suggested looking up whydahs, which matched what Hammer observed. — Jenny Staletovich, miamiherald, "Exotic bird makes SoFla scene. Its equally exotic sex dance could spell trouble for natives," 25 Oct. 2017 And in California, scaly-breasted munias have been found feeding young whydahs. — Joanna Klein, New York Times, "This Beautiful Parasitic Bird Could Soon Turn Up in Your Yard," 29 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'whydah.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about whydah

Dictionary Entries near whydah

Statistics for whydah

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for whydah

The first known use of whydah was in 1783

See more words from the same year

WORD OF THE DAY

issuable

authorized for issue (as a bond)

Test Your Vocabulary

Musical Words Quiz

Which word describes a musical performance marked by the absence of instrumental accompaniment?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ