PHOWN (PHOtos of Weaver Nests)

PHOWN (PHOtos of Weaver Nests) is a citizen science monitoring project aimed at determining the distribution of colonies or nests of all weaver species globally, and studying the variation in their colony sizes. Counting weaver nests and taking photos allows tracking of changes in weaver breeding effort. This project provides an easy way of monitoring common weavers, while helping the conservation of threatened weavers. Download PHOWN flyer here. To take part, read here.

Current statistics

Photo of the week		No. of nests	Records	Species	Countries	Participants
	Total possible	lots!	lots!	117	c 60	6.9 billion
	PHOWN records	88368	5620	68	27	217
	Non-photo records	7792510	542	21	7	14
	Total records	7880878	6162	71	28	221

Total stats possible: There are 117 living species of weavers (species list). There are about 60 countries in Africa, Asia and the Indian Ocean where weavers occur naturally. The current world population is about 6.9 billion humans. The number of records that can be submitted is unlimited (not really, but rather many!).

Newest species: Red-headed Malimbe
Newest country: Gambia
Newest participant: Riley A

Record month: Dec 2012 - 838 PHOWN records

2013 records (includes non photo records):
Jan: 141
Feb: 104
Mar: 120
Apr: 246
May: 120

Coverage map for all species
Species summary and google map
List VM records per observer
General query
More summaries

PHOWN priorities

Gallery - most recent records

Vm 5620	Vm 5619
Vm 5618	Vm 5617
Vm 5616	Vm 5615

News items relating to this project

Weaver Wednesday [48]: Vitelline Masked Weaver

2013-05-15 (366)

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.

Vitelline Masked Weaver map

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.

PHOWN summary Previous Wedn: Golden-backed Weaver Full weaver species list

All news items relating to this project

The headers below refer to Weaver News items featuring PHOWN. Click on a header to see the News item, which includes the full news item. (The number in brackets is the date that the news item appeared on Weaver Watch).

All Weaver Watch news items