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Weaver

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Weaver
Slender billed weaver
Slender-billed Weaver, Ploceus pelzelni
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: Inopinaves
Order: Passeriformes
Suborder: Passeri
Clade: Estrildid clade
Family: Ploceidae
Sundevall, 1836
- Baya Weaver- Male in .

Ploceus philippinus- Baya Weaver- Male in Hyderabad, India.

Weaver birds and nests in western .

Weaver birds and nests in western India.

Rufous-tailed weaver. Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.

Rufous-tailed weaver. Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.

Red-headed Malimbe, Uganda.

Red-headed Malimbe, Uganda.

Male in the ,

Male Speke's Weaver in the Serengeti, Tanzania

colony in

Village Weaver colony in The Gambia. The nests are the spherical suspended objects

Weaver bird in Northern india

Weaver bird in Northern india

The Ploceidae, or weavers, are small passerine birds related to the finches.

Biology[]

These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which are from Sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical Asia. A few species have been introduced outside their native range.[1] 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.

Many weaver species are gregarious and breed colonially.[1] 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.[2][3]

Phylogeny[]

These species are not closely related to the sparrows (Passeridae) nor to the Emberizidae, according to Luis Allende and colleagues.[4][5]


Species list[]

  • Genus Malimbus
    • Blue-billed Malimbe, Malimbus nitens
    • Crested Malimbe, Malimbus malimbicus
    • Gola Malimbe, Malimbus ballmanni
    • Rachel's Malimbe, Malimbus racheliae
    • Red-vented Malimbe, Malimbus scutatus
    • Cassin's Malimbe, Malimbus cassini
    • Ibadan Malimbe, Malimbus ibadanensis
    • Red-bellied Malimbe, Malimbus erythrogaster
    • Preuss's Weaver, Malimbus preussi
    • Golden-naped Weaver, Malimbus aureonucha
    • Yellow-capped Weaver, Malimbus dorsomaculatus
    • Yellow-mantled Weaver, Malimbus tricolor
    • Yellow-legged Weaver, Malimbus flavipes[6]
    • Red-headed Weaver, Malimbus rubriceps
    • Dark-backed Weaver, Malimbus bicolor
    • Red-crowned Malimbe, Malimbus coronatus
    • Sao Tome Weaver, Malimbus sanctithomae
    • Bar-winged Weaver, Malimbus angolensis
    • Red-headed Malimbe, Malimbus rubricollis
    • Maxwell's Black Weaver, Ploceus albinucha
    • Brown-capped Weaver, Ploceus insignis
    • Olive-headed Weaver, Ploceus olivaceiceps
    • Usambara Weaver, Ploceus nicolli
  • Genus Textor
  • Black-chinned Weaver, Textor nigrimentus
  • Baglafecht Weaver, Textor baglafecht
  • Bertram's Weaver, Textor bertrandi
  • Slender-billed Weaver, Textor pelzelni
  • Loango Weaver, Textor subpersonatus
  • Little Weaver, Textor luteolus
  • Lesser Masked Weaver, Textor intermedius
  • Spectacled Weaver, Textor ocularis
  • Bannerman's Weaver, Textor bannermani
  • Bates's Weaver, Textor batesi
  • Black-necked Weaver, Textor nigricollis
  • Black-billed Weaver, Textor melanogaster
  • Strange Weaver, Textor alienus
  • Bocage's Weaver, Textor temporalis
  • Cape Weaver, Textor capensis
  • Eastern Golden Weaver, Textor subaureus
  • Holub's Golden Weaver, Textor xanthops
  • Príncipe Weaver, Textor princeps
  • Orange Weaver, Textor aurantius
  • Golden Palm Weaver, Textor bojeri
  • Taveta Weaver, Textor castaneiceps
  • Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Textor xanthopterus
  • Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Textor castanops
  • Kilombero Weaver, Textor burnieri
  • Rueppell's Weaver, Textor galbula
  • Heuglin's Masked Weaver, Textor heuglini
  • Northern Masked Weaver, Textor taeniopterus
  • Vitelline Masked Weaver, Textor vitellinus
  • Southern Masked Weaver, Textor velatus
  • Katanga Masked Weaver Textor katangae[6]
  • Lufira Masked Weaver, Textor ruweti[6]
  • Tanzanian Masked Weaver, Textor reichardi
  • Village Weaver, Textor cucullatus
  • Giant Weaver, Textor grandis
  • Speke's Weaver, Textor spekei
  • Fox's Weaver, Textor spekeoides
  • Vieillot's Black Weaver, Textor nigerrimus
  • Weyns's Weaver, Textor weynsi
  • Clarke's Weaver, Textor golandi
  • Black-headed Weaver, Textor melanocephalus
  • Juba Weaver, Textor dichrocephalus
  • Golden-backed Weaver, Textor jacksoni
  • Cinnamon Weaver, Textor badius
  • Chestnut Weaver, Textor rubiginosus

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Weaver
Wikispecies has information related to: http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/Weaver
  1. ^ a b Craig, Adrian (2010). "Family Ploceidae (Weavers)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D. A. Handbook of the Birds of the World. 15. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. pp. 74–197. 
  2. ^ Fry, C.H. & Keith, S. (2004) The birds of Africa vol. VII. Christopher Helm, London
  3. ^ "Quelea quelea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012. 
  4. ^ Allende, Luis M.; Rubio, Isabel; Ruíz-del-Valle, Valentin; Guillén, Jesus; Martínez-Laso, Jorge; Lowy, Ernesto; Varela, Pilar; Zamora, Jorge; Arnaiz-Villena, Antonio (2001). "The Old World sparrows (genus Passer) phylogeography and their relative abundance of nuclear mtDNA pseudogenes" (PDF). Journal of Molecular Evolution. 53 (2): 144–154. PMID 11479685. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. 
  5. ^ Arnaiz-Villena, A; Gómez-Prieto P; Ruiz-de-Valle V (2009). "Phylogeography of finches and sparrows". Nova Science Publishers. ISBN 978-1-60741-844--3. 
  6. ^ a b c "Zoological Nomenclature Resource: Psittaciformes (Version 1.014)". www.zoonomen.net. 2011-01-15. 

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