Pin-Tailed Whydah

As we prepared our meal on the edge of Kakum Forest, a sparrow-sized bird sporting an extraordinary tail flew down and perched on a fence. I asked our guide what was the local name for the bird, and he said, straight-faced, "We call that one the Long-Tailed Bird."

It seemed fair enough. There was no chance of it being confused with any other bird we saw around Kakum!

Later, it posed for me delightfully in a tree amongst the dead tendrils of a vine which had grown in the previous rainy season. After I got my shot, it flew away with a bounding flight, as if bouncing up and down on the magnificent two feathers in its tail


Back to Gallery Index?

Back to Ghana 2004?

Back to Home Page?