The pin-tailed whydah (Vidua macroura) is a small songbird with a conspicuous pennant-like tail in breeding males.

The pin-tailed whydah was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Fringilla macroura.

[5] The pin-tailed whydah occurs in much of sub-Saharan Africa, favouring grassland, scrubs and savannah, also coming into parks and gardens.

[6] It has been introduced to southern California, with a sizable population existing there, as well as Puerto Rico and Singapore.

The species is a brood parasite which lays its eggs in the nests of estrildid finches, especially waxbills.