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Weaver
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The Ploceidae, or Weavers, are small passerine birds related to the finches.
These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which breed in sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical Asia and also in Australia. The weaver group is divided into the buffalo, sparrow, typical, and widow weavers. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black, some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season.
Weaver birds, also known as weaver finches, get their name because of their elaborately woven nests (the most elaborate of any birds'), though some are notable for their selective parasitic nesting habits.
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Encyclopedia
The Ploceidae, or Weavers, are small passerine birds related to the finches.
These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which breed in sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical Asia and also in Australia. The weaver group is divided into the buffalo, sparrow, typical, and widow weavers. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black, some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season.
Weaver birds, also known as weaver finches, get their name because of their elaborately woven nests (the most elaborate of any birds'), though some are notable for their selective parasitic nesting habits. The nests vary in size, shape, material used, and construction techniques from species to species. Materials used for building nests include fine leaf-fibers, grass, and twigs. Many species weave very fine nests using thin strands of leaf fiber, though some, like the buffalo-weavers, form massive untidy stick nests in their colonies, which may have spherical woven nests within. The sparrow weavers of Africa build apartment-house nests, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.
The weavers are gregarious birds which often breed colonially. The birds build their nests together for protection, often several to a branch. Usually the male birds weave the nests and use them as a form of display to lure prospective females. The weaver bird colonies may be found close to water bodies. They sometimes cause crop damage, notably the Red-billed Quelea, reputed to be the world's most numerous bird.
Species list in taxonomic order
- Genus Malimbus
- Yellow-legged Malimbe, Malimbus flavipes
- Red-crowned Malimbe, Malimbus coronatus
- Black-throated Malimbe, Malimbus cassini
- Ballmann's Malimbe, Malimbus ballmanni
- Rachel's Malimbe, Malimbus racheliae
- Red-vented Malimbe, Malimbus scutatus
- Ibadan Malimbe, Malimbus ibadanensis
- Red-bellied Malimbe, Malimbus erythrogaster
- Gray's Malimbe, Malimbus nitens
- Crested Malimbe, Malimbus malimbicus
- Red-headed Malimbe, Malimbus rubricollis
- Genus Euplectes
- Yellow-crowned Bishop, Euplectes afer
- Fire-fronted Bishop, Euplectes diadematus
- Black Bishop, Euplectes gierowii
- Black-winged Red Bishop, Euplectes hordeaceus
- Northern Red Bishop or Orange Bishop, Euplectes franciscanus
- Southern Red Bishop or Red Bishop, Euplectes orix
- Zanzibar Bishop, Euplectes nigroventris
- Golden-backed Bishop, Euplectes aureus
- Yellow Bishop, Euplectes capensis
- Fan-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes axillaris
- Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, Euplectes macroura
- White-winged Widowbird, Euplectes albonotatus
- Red-collared Widowbird, Euplectes ardens
- Marsh Widowbird, Euplectes hartlaubi
- Buff-shouldered Widowbird, Euplectes psammocromius
- Long-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes progne
- Jackson's Widowbird, Euplectes jacksoni
- Genus Anomalospiza
- Cuckoo Finch or Parasitic Weaver, Anomalospiza imberbis - probably belongs in Viduidae
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