Adams D, Adams B. 1986. "Willy the Weaver" (Nesting behaviour of a Masked Weaver Ploceus velatus). Babbler 11:15-23.

The authors observed the breeding activities of a Southern Masked Weaver in their garden in Gaborone, Botswana. They recorded the nesting chronology, nesting success and description of nest material, of an individual male during the 1984/85 breeding season, with brief breeding data in the 1985/86 season.

Using the data in Appendix 1, one can reconstruct the number of nests present in the colony. A weekly basis was chosen for the figure below. A total of 18 nests was built through the first season, and up to 6 nests were present at one time. Analysing the data on a daily basis, each nest was present on average for 26 days (3-56 days, n=17; date of disappearance of last nest was unknown). Five nests became breeding nests.

A summary was provided for the 1985/86 breeding season and it appeared to be the same male that had returned to this Combretum imberbe tree. A comparison of the 2 seasons is given:

The Southern Masked Weaver is the weaver with the most records in PHOWN (PHOtos of Weaver Nests) and a summary of records may be viewed here.