The weaver bird family

There are 117 living species in the weaver bird family (Ploceidae), excluding the sparrows of genus Passer, see species list here. Read more about the family here.

Latest weaver news

Colour ringing birds at Fynbos Estate, 17-21 June 2019

2019-06-25 (841)

Bird ringing was conducted at Fynbos Estate, with two students from France, as part of their field project with BDI. During the ringing sessions Emilie and Manon learned to identify and measure local bird species. Two species, Common Fiscals and Cape Robin-chats, were also colour ringed to enable observations on individually identifiable birds. During ringing sessions, territories of at least two pairs of Common Fiscals were noted. The Common Fiscals at Fynbos Estate often hunt from surprisingly low perches in the vineyards.

Table: Number of birds ringed and recaptured at Fynbos Estate, 17-21 June 2019

Species	English	Ringed	Recaptured	Total
316	Cape Turtle Dove	1	0	1
391	White-backed Mousebird	1	0	1
432	Acacia Pied Barbet	0	3	3
440	Greater Honeyguide	1	0	1
543	Cape Bulbul	5	0	5
581	Cape Robin-chat	6	1	7
621	Long-billed Crombec	1	0	1
622	Bar-throated Apalis	3	0	3
665	Fiscal Flycatcher	1	0	1
672	Cape Batis	2	0	2
678	Fairy Flycatcher	1	0	1
707	Common Fiscal	3	1	4
751	Malachite Sunbird	1	2	3
786	Cape Sparrow	1	0	1
799	Cape Weaver	76	11	87
803	Southern Masked Weaver	13	6	19
808	Southern Red Bishop	1	0	1
810	Yellow Bishop	6	0	6
1105	Olive Thrush	2	1	3
1172	Cape White-eye	32	6	38
4139	Karoo Prinia	3	2	5
4142	Southern Grey-headed Sparrow	2	0	2
	TOTALS	162	33	195

Close to 200 birds were caught and processed. Recaptures included birds from the first ringing trip to Fynbos in May 2018. A total of 22 species were handled, including three species not recorded here before: Greater Honeyguide (an immature male), Long-billed Crombec and Fairy Flycatcher. The Greater Honeyguide is a brood parasite of hole nesting birds like woodpeckers and barbets and potential hosts at Fynbos are Cardinal Woodpecker and Acacia Pied Barbet. There were many several Cape Weaver colonies, with many green nests being built.

Ageing Dark-backed Weavers

2019-05-27 (840)

Dark-backed Weaver males and females are alike. Juveniles are similar to adults, but there are some features that help separate juveniles from adults. Juveniles have:

pale gape flanges
a paler bill (with a yellow tinge in above above, compared to bluish-grey in adult)
mottled or pale throat
darker brown eye

Dark-backed Weavers show some subspecific plumage variation across their range in Africa, see map and brief subspecies notes at species page. Biometrics also vary across its range, but not in any obvious pattern. Less than 400 Dark-backed Weavers have been ringed in South Africa, the lowest species total for any South African weaver species.

Cape Weavers and Hadedas breeding at Die Oog

2019-05-20 (839)

phown record — Cape Weaver colony at Die Oog

Cape Weavers have been nesting in a row of poplar trees at Die Oog, Bergvliet, Cape Town, for at least 2 decades, and probably quite a bit longer. The total number of nests is usually counted when the weaver colony is counted, although visits in early years were few and not always at the peak of breeding. For the last 6 years many visits were made through the year, each time counting the total number of nests in the poplars. The maximum number of nests per year is loosely correlated with breeding success. Some nests are also built in the willows, on the island and in the reeds, but these nests are not included as the nests are usually built by immature males and not used by females for breeding.

In many of these years a pair of Hadedas has also nested in the poplars near the weaver nests. Hadedas and Cape Weavers often nest together, and it may be that this increases the vigilance against predators. Hadedas sometimes manage to repel avian predators like crows and raptors although sometimes the predators are successful. Thus Hadedas could help reduce predation on the weaver nests.

A pair of Hadedas bred in the poplars with the weavers in 2013-2015 but not in more recent years. Interestingly the number of weaver nests has decreased in the last few years, suggesting that the presence of Hadedas previously did help the Cape Weavers. In 2015 there was also a small colony of Reed Cormorants in the poplars. Read about the nesting association of the weavers, Hadeda, and cormaorants at this site in Biodiversity Observations.

See colony record in PHOWN (PHOtos of Weaver Nests) at Die Oog colony.

Blue line - highest nest count for Cape Weaver per year
Red boxes - Hadedas bred in poplars

Scaly-feathered Finch records in KNP

2019-05-14 (838)

Scaly-feathered Finch, photo by Leigh Hoets

During Jan 2010-Mar 2011 Scaly-feathered Finch was found breeding near Pafuri in the Kruger National Park (see paper). The species was seen regularly for 15 months in the Makuleke Contract Park area of the northern KNP.

After a lapse of 8 years or so, there have been recent sightings of this species from northern KNP.

Two Scaly-feathered Finches were photographed by Leigh Hoets along the S53 about 9km south of Babalala Picnic Site in the Kruger National Park on 4 May 2019. See SA Rare Bird News Report - 6 May 2019.

On 13 May there was a record of a small group of Scaly-feathered Finches seen in the north-western corner of the Makuleke Concession, ie in the same area where the first records (2010-11) were made. See SA Rare Bird News Report - 13 May 2019.

The Scaly-feathered Finch shows increases and decreases in different parts of its range in South Africa - see Range changes.

Map of Scaly-feathered Finch records
in Limpopo and northern KNP

Big green grids - SABAP1
Small blue grids - SABAP2
Marker L - paper from 2010-11
Black dot - Babalala Picnic Site

Ringing at Sonop farm, Paardeberg, 27 April 2019

2019-04-29 (837)

Paardeberg Inselberg is surrounded by vineyards and farms, but patches of fynbos, trees, farm dams, homestead gardens provide varied habitat and good diversity of birds. Ringing has been conducted at Bowwood farm and Fynbos Estate.

On 27 April 2019 Loutjie Steenberg, Taylyn Risi and I ringed on Sonop farm and caught 43 birds of 13 species. Three birds were recaptures from a previous ringing visit by Loutjie on 29 July 2018 - a Karoo Prinia, a Cape Weaver and a Southern Masked Weaver.

The Southern Masked Weaver shown was a recapture of ring FC16512 - it was moulting its head feathers into breeding plumage (the growing feathers with sheaths were black or yellow), rather early for a weaver in a rural area.

The species of the day was Neddicky, being the first time this species has been ringed anywhere on the Paardeberg.

This ringing session brings a total of 777 birds of 39 species ringed on the Paardeberg over 2018-19.

List of species ringed at Sonop farm:

Species	n
Cape Turtle Dove	1
Cape Bulbul	2
Cape Robin	6
Neddicky	2
Fiscal Flycatcher	2
Fiscal Shrike	1
Cape Weaver	8
Southern Masked Weaver	7
Yellow Bishop	4
Cape Canary	1
Bully Canary	1
Cape White-eye	5
Karoo Prinia	3
Total	43

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