Weaver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other meanings, see Weaver (disambiguation).

Weaver
Slender-billed Weaver, Ploceus pelzelni
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Ploceidae Sundevall, 1836
Genera
c.16, see text

The 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 several 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, 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.

[edit] Systematics

• Genus Anomalospiza
  • Grosbeak Weaver, Amblyospiza albifrons
  • Parasitic Weaver, Anomalospiza imberbis

• Genus Anaplectes
  • Red-headed Weaver, Anaplectes rubriceps

• Genus Bracycope
  • Bob-tailed Weaver, Brachycope anomala

• Genus Bubalornis
  • Red-billed Buffalo-weaver, Bubalornis niger
  • White-billed Buffalo-weaver, Bubalornis albirostris

• Genus Dinemellia - White-headed Buffalo-weaver

• Genus Euplectes
  • Black Bishop, Euplectes gierowii
  • Black-winged Red Bishop, Euplectes hordeaceus
  • Buff-shouldered Widowbird, Euplectes psammocromius
  • Fan-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes axillaris
  • Fire-fronted Bishop, Euplectes diadematus
  • Golden-backed Bishop, Euplectes aureus
  • Jackson's Widowbird, Euplectes jacksoni
  • Long-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes progne
  • Marsh Widowbird, Euplectes hartlaubi
  • Northern Red Bishop, Euplectes orix
  • Orange Bishop, Euplectes franciscanus
  • Red-collared Widowbird, Euplectes ardens
  • White-winged Widowbird, Euplectes albonotatus
  • Yellow Bishop, Euplectes capensis
  • Yellow-crowned Bishop, Euplectes afer
  • Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, Euplectes macrourus
  • Zanzibar Bishop, Euplectes nigroventris

• Genus Foudia
  • Forest Fody, Foudia omissa
  • Mauritius Fody, Foudia rubra
  • Red Fody, Foudia madagascariensis
  • Red-headed Fody, Foudia eminentissima
  • Rodrigues Fody, Foudia flavicans
  • Seychelles Fody, Foudia sechellarum

• Genus Histurgops
  • Rufous-tailed Weaver, Histurgops ruficauda

• Genus Malimbus
  • Ballmann's Malimbe, Malimbus ballmanni
  • Black-throated Malimbe, Malimbus cassini
  • Crested Malimbe, Malimbus malimbicus
  • Gray's Malimbe, Malimbus nitens
  • Ibadan Malimbe, Malimbus ibadanensis
  • Rachel's Malimbe, Malimbus racheliae
  • Red-bellied Malimbe, Malimbus erythrogaster
  • Red-crowned Malimbe, Malimbus coronatus
  • Red-headed Malimbe, Malimbus rubricollis
  • Red-vented Malimbe, Malimbus scutatus
  • Yellow-legged Malimbe, Malimbus flavipes

• Genus Pacyphantes
  • Compact Weaver, Pachyphantes superciliosus

• Genus Philetairus
  • Social Weaver, Philetairus socius

• Genus Plocepasser
  • Chestnut-backed Sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser rufoscapulatus
  • Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser superciliosus
  • Donaldson-Smith's Sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser donaldsoni
  • White-browed Sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser mahali

• Genus Ploceus (c.60 species)

• Genus Pseudonigrita
  • Black-capped Social-weaver, Pseudonigrita cabanisi
  • Grey-headed Social-weaver, Pseudonigrita arnaudi

• Genus Quelea
  • Cardinal Quelea, Quelea cardinalis
  • Red-billed Quelea, Quelea quelea
  • Red-headed Quelea, Quelea erythrops

• Genus Sporopipes
  • Scaly Weaver, Sporopipes squamifrons
  • Speckle-fronted Weaver, Sporopipes frontalis

[edit] Weaver bird nests at Kotaballappalli, Karnataka, India