WEAVERS - BIRD OF THE MONTH - JUNE & JULY 2014*

[Lisbeth]

Broad-billed Weaver - Lake Panic Hide, KNP

[Flutterby]

Thick-billed Weaver, Johannesburg

[Amoli]

Thick billed weaver

Male



Female



Nest



Male feeding a juvenile

[Tina]

thick-billed weaver



near Lower Sabie March 2013

[BluTuna]

Thickbilled Weaver

[Lisbeth]

Spectacled Weaver, Ploceus ocularis

The Spectacled Weaver (Ploceus ocularis) is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is found widely in woodland, forest edge and gardens of East, Middle and Southern Africa, but is absent from the most arid regions (such as the Karoo) and dense, primary rainforest. This common species breeds in solitary pairs, and both sexes are bright yellow, have an olive-yellow back, black "spectacles" and pale eyes. The male has a black throat


Description
Size 14-15 cm. Unlike many other weaver species, Spectacled Weavers have the same bright yellow plumage year round. Olive above, yellow below with a chestnut cap and face. Distinctive pale yellow eye with black line through. Bill black and sharply pointed.
Sexes are similar but the female lacks the black throat of the male.
The juvenile has a pinkish bill, without the eye-stripe initially but can be distinguished from other weavers by its thin bill.

Distribution:
From Ethiopia to Cameroon south through southern DRC, Zambia, Angola and Tanzania to southern Africa. Here it is locally common in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and eastern and south-eastern South Africa, but scarce in northern Botswana and Namibia.

Habitat
Thornveld and coastal forests, sandforests and riverine forests.

Diet
It mainly eats insects gleaned from branches, supplemented with fruit. It is an agile foraging, rapidly moving through foliage in search prey and occasionally hawking termite alates.

Breeding
Monogamous, territorial solitary nester, as pairs stay bonded over multiple breeding seasons, possibly for life. Pairs often nest at the same site every year. The nest is built solely by the male or occasionally by both sexes in about 2-3 weeks, consisting of a retort-shaped structure with an exceptionally long vertical entrance tunnel, usually 10-20 but sometimes 60 cm long! It is usually woven from thin strips of plant material, but it may be built with only pine (Pinus) needles or horse hair. It is typically attached to the tip of a branch or creeper, especially if overlooking a stream, rarely using a patch of reeds or grass instead. Egg-laying season is from September-March, peaking from October-February. The female lays 1-4 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for about 13-14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents, leaving the nest after about 15-19 days and becoming fully independent about two weeks later.
It is an occasional host of the Diederik Cuckoo.

[Toko]

Spectacled Weaver Ploceus ocularis

I have a blurred one




... and a lesser blurred one


Hluhluwe, KwaZulu-Natal

[Dewi]

Bath time.









Kozi Forest Lodge, KZN

[nan]

Spectacled Weaver - Addo

17.10.2012

[BluTuna]

Spectacled Weaver.