The description was published in a book about birds collected on Baron Carl Klaus von der Decken's travels in east Africa, but the book included birds from other collections, including the Southern Brown-throated Weaver.
The Southern Brown-throated Weaver was collected by Sir John Kirk, a Scottish physician and naturalist.
Kirk was part of David Livingstone's Zambesi expedition from 1858 to 1864, travelling from the mouth of the Zambesi upstream, and also exploring the Shire River, a northern tributary of the Zambesi.
On a return from Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi), the expedition boat was stuck in the Elephant Marsh on the Shire River during Nov-Dec 1861. Kirk collected the Southern Brown-throated Weaver while stranded here. When the rains came, the river started to rise and the expedition coninued, reaching the Mozambican coast in early Jan 1862.
Kirk also collected many other birds and mammals along the Zambesi on this expedition, and sent most of these specimens to the British Museum.
The first illustration of the Southern Brown-throated Weaver was of an adult male by Cabanis (1884). This was followed by a colour painting, of the head of a male, by Sharpe (1890).
Weaver Watch
