Posted by Roger Hammer on October 15, 2017 at 11:59:55
A male pin-tailed whydah appeared in our yard on September 28 but was originally identified (by me) as a fork-tailed flycatcher. It's been seen several other times over the next two weeks but not up close, but finally my wife got a photo of it and it had a finch-like orange bill, black-and-white body, and extremely long, streaming, black tail. Larry Manfredi has been here 3 times but hasn't seen it yet (it was here again yesterday, 10/14) and it was he who suggested it was a pin-tailed whydah. The photo and sighting by me yesterday has confirmed it. This African bird is a brood parasite, like cowbirds, and could spell trouble if it becomes established. It is already established in Puerto Rico and California, and there is a single other (undated) report from Florida. They are probably escaped cage birds.