Total nests counted: 7880945

Todays weaver type: (see more here)
, ,

Weaver Wednesday [49]: Red-headed Quelea

Weaver Wednesday

The Red-headed Quelea Quelea erythrops is a small weaver found in scattered localities through Africa. The male in breeding plumage has a bright red head, closely resembling the Cardinal Quelea Q. cardinalis but the Red-headed Quelea has the red of its head continuing onto the nape but not onto the breast, and has black barring on the throat. The female is very similar to the female Cardinal Quelea, with a yellowish face and supercilium, but has a white throat, short dark moustachial mark, slightly larger and paler bill, but is probably not safely distinguishable in the field. The non-breeding male retains some red on the head. Read more about its identification in South Africa here.

The Red-headed Quelea occurs widely through sub-Saharan Africa (see map left, based on Birds of Africa). Two races have been proposed previously, Q. e. erythrops in the north and Q. e. viniceps in the south, but the species is treated as monotypic currently. Morphological differences between these races are slight, but there may be differences in the timing of moult, migrations and breeding in the two regions which suggests separation with minimal interchange between these populations.

The Red-headed Quelea inhabits rank grass near water, tall grassland, farmland and rice fields. It is highly gregarious, often in flocks of over 1000. Small groups join mixed-species flocks of weavers. Flocks are restless, some birds feeding on the ground, and others perching in bushes.

Their diet consists of grass seeds, and insects. Rice is taken, and it may be a pest in some areas. Nestlings are fed on insects.

This species is migratory but few recaptures or recoveries have been reported. The greatest movement to date is at least 475 km and the details of this record may be seen here.

The Red-headed Quelea is probably polygynous. They are colonial, with several hundred nests close together. The largest colonies consist of 3000-5000 nests. Breeding is highly synchronized. Males may leave the colony before the young fledge. Colonies are seldom at same site in successive years.

The nest is a tightly-woven dome with a side entrance, built from very narrow strips of grass. The entrance is oblong, without a porch, but with a small platform on the lower lip. The nest is not lined, and is Suspended between 2 grass stems, above water in reeds. Males and females have been recorded as building nests.

The Red-headed Quelea has 2 PHOWN records, both from South Africa. Many more PHOWN records are needed for this locally common species (see PHOWN summary). Submit any weaver nest records to PHOWN (PHOtos of Weaver Nests) via the Virtual Museum upload site.

BOOK: Early Sociable Weaver nest photos

John Hutchinson was a well-known botanist. He travelled around South Africa from Aug 1928 - Apr 1929, and in southern Africa from June - Sep 1930 with General Smuts. His book contains is well illustrated with interesting black and white photos of scenery. The text refers to his plant collections and occassional travel stories. There is minimum reference to fauna in the text or photos, except for several illustrations of weaver nests. There is a line drawing of a weaver nest (probably Cape Weaver) drawn on his journey from Cape Town to Caledon.

There are four black-and-white photos of Sociable Weaver nests:

• in a quiver tree near Kenhardt (p175)
• in a tree (p176)
• in an Acacia giraffae tree on the Kaap Plateau (p425) - well hidden in the tree
• on a telephone pole between Griquatown and Wittewater (p431)

Although the book was only published in 1946, the photo of the nest on the telephone pole was taken on 23 Feb 1929 and is one of the earliest records of Sociable Weavers nesting on these man-made structures.

Weaver Wednesday [48]: Vitelline Masked Weaver

Weaver Wednesday

The Vitelline Masked Weaver Ploceus vitellinus is a common weaver from West to East Africa. It is very similar to the Southern Masked Weaver and has been been considered a subspecies of the latter as the two species do not overlap in range. The male Vitelline Masked Weaver in breeding plumage has a black mask, bright yellow underparts and a red eye. The bill and mask are smaller than in other masked weavers and the mask is neatly rounded on the throat. The female and non-breeding male are olive above and yellow below, with a reddish eye.

P. v. uluensis (from Ethiopia south to Tanzania) was recognised until recently but due to considerable individual plumage variation the species is now considered monotypic. It is found from SW Mauritania across the West African savanna belt to Kenya and Tanzania (see map right, based on Birds of Africa). It has been introduced to a bird park near the Yarkon River, Tel Aviv, Israel.

The Vitelline Masked Weaver inhabits dry savanna woodland and scrubland in the sahel belt and similar semi-arid regions. It roosts in Acacia trees with other weaver species, and forms nomadic flocks in the non-breeding season. It feeds on seeds and insects; and it also takes the nectar of Leonotis nepetifolia by biting a flower off at the base, mandibulating it to extract the nectar, and then discarding it. On the ground it moves mainly by hopping and it can move rapidly sideways along a branch.

The Vitelline Masked Weaver is polygynous and colonial, but is not found in large colonies. Typically it occurs in small groups of nests with a single male in attendance. Its nest is oval to pear-shaped, with the entrance below and a high lip inside. It is tightly woven, and has a very short entrance tunnel or none at all. The nest has a ceiling made of grass heads of 2-3 different kinds while the floor is lined with softer grass heads. Nests are suspended from a single central point of attachment; sited 2-5 m above the ground along or near the tip of a pendulous branch; and often far from water. The male removes nearly all the leaves around a nest. In dry country it often nests in trees over a pool in a garden or desert oasis. The nest usually has broad blades wrapped around the nest, giving it a distinctive look. The egg colours vary widely as is the case with Southern Masked Weaver eggs.

A great sequence of photos of a male building a nest may be seen here.

The Vitelline Masked Weaver has 3 PHOWN records, 2 from Tanzania and 1 from Ghana. Many more PHOWN records are needed for this locally common species (see PHOWN summary). Look out for waxbills and finches using old nests and submit PHOWN records for these nests as well. Submit any weaver nest records to PHOWN (PHOtos of Weaver Nests) via the Virtual Museum upload site.

PAPER: Thick-billed Weaver and Cuckoo Finch related

Abstract. Molecular analyses support a sister group relationship between the African Cuckoo Finch (Anomalospiza imberbis) and Viduidae (whydahs and indigobirds). This result was interpreted as evidence for a single origin of brood parasitism in Old World passerines. However, it went unnoticed that A. imberbis shares an unusual derived morphology of the pterygoid/palatine complex with the African Grosbeak Weaver (Amblyospiza albifrons), whose affinities could not be resolved in molecular analyses. The unusual and extensive fusion of the pterygoids and palatines of the two species is likely to constitute a synapomorphy of Anomalospiza and Amblyospiza. Sister group relationship between these taxa would indicate that brood parasitism has either been lost secondarily in Amblyospiza or, more likely, evolved independently in Anomalospiza and Viduidae.

There is a large difference in size between these two species (wing of the Thick-billed Weaver is 79-104, and wing of the Cuckoo Finch is 63-74), but both have proportionately thick bills.

Buffalo Weavers and Baobabs

Buffalo Weavers are so named because when Andrew Smith first saw Red-billed Buffalo Weavers, they were associating with buffalo. They do not normally do so, however, and could more aptly be called Baobab Weavers. Both Red-billed and White-billed Buffalo Weavers often breed in baobab trees. The weavers are not dependant on baobabs as they can also breed in other large trees and also man-made structures. Nevertheless, there is a large overlap in distribution of these 2 weaver species and the baobab, and the weavers do seem to prefer these trees for nesting where they can.

Google Earth Map left, based on maps from Birds of Africa):
red - Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
white - White-billed Buffalo Weaver
green outline - Baobab, map based on Wickens

There is one baobab species in Africa, Adansonia digitata, six in Madagascar and one in Australia, all in the genus Adansonia. Other weavers that often breed in baobabs are:
Red-headed Weaver in Africa
Sakalava Weaver in Madagascar
There are also incidental records for several other weaver species nesting in baobabs.

Submit any weaver nest records in baobabs (or any other sites) to PHOWN (PHOtos of Weaver Nests) via the Virtual Museum upload site.