Weaver species
Choose different species from drop-down list and press 'Go' button. See Full species list.Principe Golden Weaver Ploceus princeps
IUCN: Least concern Discovery: 055Categories: golden, island, nectar, palm, blue eggs,
News items about species
Discovery
![]() figure from Shelley 1905 ![]() figure from Bannerman 1949 ![]() distribution, type locality circled IntroductionThe Principe Golden Weaver was formally described by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a French biologist and ornithologist. He described many new birds. Around 1849 Bonaparte began work on preparing a classification of all the birds in the world, visiting museums across Europe to study the collections. In 1850, he published the first volume of his Conspectus Generum Avium which included 3 weavers. Bonaparte studied the type specimen of the Principe Golden Weaver in the Paris Museum, noting the locality as Principe Island. Bonaparte probably named the weaver after the island, rather than after the Latin word for "principal" as was suggested by Jobling (1991).The Principe Golden Weaver was collected by Carl Weiss, a German doctor and collector working for the Museum of Hamburg. Weiss arrived on Sao Tome in 1847, where he collected the type of the Sao Tome Weaver. He travelled from Sao Tome to the coast of Ghana, to Principe and back to Sao Tome again. He would have collected the Principe Golden Weaver between 1847-1850. The specimen was probably sent to Hamburg Museum first, but was presumably sold to the Paris Museum. The first illustration of a Principe Golden Weaver is by Shelley (1905), several decades after it was first discovered. The next illustration was of a male and female, but not in colour, published by Bannerman (1949). Reichenbach (1863) mentioned the species, and provided an English name, but did not illustrate it. Scientific citationSymplectes princeps Bonaparte 1850 Consp. Gen. Av., 1, p.439 Principe Island.Meaning of namesprinceps - Latin: princeps, chief, leader, most distinguished (Jobling 1991).However, it is more likely that the weaver was named after the island, rather than the general Latin name. Principe Island (Prince's island) was named in honor of Afonso, Prince of Portugal, by the early Portuguese visitors (see wikipedia). First English nameThe Hyphantorne Prince (Reichenbach 1863).Alternate namesPrincipe Island Golden Weaver, Principe Weaver.CollectorCarl Weiss.Date collectedBetween 1847-1850.Locality collectedInsulis Princip = Principe Island.Type specimensThe type specimen is probably in the Paris Museum. |
The above is based on Weaver Wednesday 2, a weekly series about the discovery of each weaver species.
This species text first appeared as
Weaver Wednesday [172] - Discovery [55]: Principe Golden Weaver on 2015-09-30
1. Basic biology
The above is based on Weaver Wednesday, a weekly series about weaver species.
This species text first appeared as
Weaver Wednesday [56]: Principe Golden Weaver on 2013-07-10
2. Breeding facts
Pair bond Monogamous Breeding season May-Jun and Aug-Sept Nest site suspended usually more than 10 m above ground from tip ofbranch or palm frond Nest building woven by male Colony size Solitary, sometimes colonial; several pairs may nest in same tree, nests well spaced Clutch size 1-2 eggs Egg colour plain blue Egg size no information Incubation no information Chicks and nestling period male assists in feeding large nestlings, no information on nestling period |
Breeding information based on Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 15.
3. Photos of Weaver Nests
![]() Vm 17397 | ![]() Vm 856 |
Thumb-nails of most recent PHOWN records - click on one to see its full record
See all PHOWN records for this species here.
PHOWN (Photos of Weaver Nests) provides valuable info on breeding distribution and colony sizes of weavers.
You can contribute by registering and submitting photos at Virtual Museum webpage.
4. Breeding distribution
Google map showing distribution (For species with small ranges you need to zoom in at the correct area to see the range):
yellow blob - range of weaver species; read more about this here.
- PHOWN records with photos
- PHOWN records with no photos (Nest Record Cards, other records)
- Birdpix records
- comments on out of range records, or interesting records
- type locality
CLICK on the marker on the map to see individual record details.
5. Range changes
Not South African speciesThe above is based on Weaver Wednesday 3, a weekly series about range changes in South African weaver species.
This species text first appeared as
n/a