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

[Toko]

Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus


Mlilwane, Swaziland

[Amoli]

Marievale



Empangeni KZN



Johannesburg

[nan]

Village Weaver/Tisserin gendarme
Kruger 6.11.2009

male

female

[nan]

Kruger 6.11.2009

male

juv. male

[Lisbeth]

Female village weaver




Mixed village weavers




Female con chick, south coast, KZN

[Lisbeth]

Spot the bird.....tail

[Flutterby]

Village Weavers, Ballito, KZN

Male and Female


Acrobat weaver!


Biting off more than he can carry!



Interior decorating!

[Lisbeth]

The Chestnut Weaver (Ploceus rubiginosus) is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, and lately also in North west Southern Africa.......at least one has been seen.

[Lisbeth]

The Dark-backed Weaver (Ploceus bicolor), also known as the Forest Weaver, is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.


Description
Length 13-16 cm, mass 28-57 g.
Adult: Dark brown upperparts and golden-yellow under parts. The back is grey in some races. The eyes are dark brown and the legs brown. Sexes are alike.
Immature: Similar to the adult, but duller, with a black and white grizzlerd forehead and throat.

Distribution
Occurs in patches from Cameroon and Somalia through southern DRC, Zambia, Angola and Tanzania to southern Africa. Here it is common from Mozambique and the extreme east of Zimbabwe to KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
It occurs in coastal, riverine and inland forests from the eastern Cape Province northwards. In Zimbabwe it is found in the southeastern lowveld, the eastern highlands, and along the Mazowe River. It is widespread in suitable habitat in southern Mozambique.
There are five subspecies in the region. P. b. bicolor occurs along the coast northwards to about Mtunzini, where a relative stronghold of lowland sclateri begins, and lebomboensis is found further north and in the Lebombo Mountains. In the highlands of eastern Zimbabwe, birds belong to the endemic race sylvanus, while those in the lowlands to the north and south are stictifrons.

Habitat
Riverine vegetation in coastal thickets and evergreen forests.

Diet
A largely insectivorous weaver. It mainly eats arthropods supplemented with fruit, nectar and flowers, doing most of its foraging in the canopy, gleaning from leaves and branches. It often joins mixed-species foraging flocks, also hawking insects aerially and plucking prey from the ground.

Breeding
Monogamous, territorial and solitary. The nest is built by both sexes or just the male in about 7-9 days, starting by weaving a simple ring which is extended into a retort shape, with a long tunnel at a slight angle at the base. It is woven with stiff material such as thin vines, creepers, Asparagus leaves and Russet secamone (Secamone alpinii), while the interior is lined with softer material, especially old-man's-beard lichen (Usnea). It is typically attached to the tip of a branch or creeper, anywhere from 2-15 metres above ground. Egg-laying season is from September-February, peaking from November-December. It lays 2-4 eggs, which are incubated for about 15-17 days. The chicks are fed by both parents, leaving the nest after about 22 days, after which they may only become independent up to 6 weeks later.

[Dewi]

Dark-backed Weaver. Kosi Forest Lodge, KZN.