The pin-tailed whydah is a spectacular little bird. It’s also a parasite. And if you live near Los Angeles or some other parts of the United States, it could soon become a regular visitor to your backyard, says Mark Hauber, an evolutionary ecologist at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

In a study published Wednesday in The Condor: Ornithological Applications, Dr. Hauber and his colleagues used computer modeling to predict where you might spot them next. Their models suggest that potential sites for invasion include California’s Orange County, southern Texas, southern Florida, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and many of the Hawaiian Islands. If the birds are introduced in great numbers to these areas, they could have a damaging effect on the birds you know and love.

During the mating season, a male pin-tailed whydah grows a plume of black feathers twice as long as his body. To impress a potential partner, he hovers in front her like a helicopter, flapping his wings and dangling his long tail feathers like luxurious locks of hair. He sings. After mating, the male leaves to breed more, and the female lays eggs — in another bird’s nest.