A female Pin-tailed photographed in Arcadia, California.

The Pin-tailed Whydah is a gorgeous songbird bird native to sub-Saharan Africa. This songbird is used in the pet trade, in no small part because the spectacular tail-feathers of the male during the breeding season. In some places, the bird has become an introduced wild species when pet birds are let loose or escape from their cages.

Not surprisingly, the introduction of the non-native Pin-tailed Whydah is a particular problem for native birds. The species is a brood parasite, meaning that females lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, fooling the foster parents into raising the pin-tailed whydah chicks at the expense of their own babies.

If Whydahs are successful enough at fooling birds into raising their chicks, their presence can quickly have a detrimental impact on native bird species. And since native birds didn't evolve alongside the parasitic Pin-tailed Whydah, they're not as likely to recognize the chicks as nest invaders.

Pin tailed WhydahWhydah