whydah

noun whyd·ah \ ˈhwi-də , 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

Recent Examples of whydah from 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.