Introduction

Cabanis named this weaver after Wenzel Bojer, a Czech naturalist and collector in tropical Africa and Madagascar. Interestingly, a year after Cabanis named the Golden Palm Weaver, Hartlaub & Finsch (1870) named described this species based on weavers collected by Bojer much earlier (1824) on Zanzibar, Tanzania. Recent re-examination of Bojer's specimens in the Vienna museum indicates that they are more likely to be the Eastern Golden Weaver P. subaureus.

So, although the weaver specimens collected by Bojer are not Golden Palm Weavers, the scientific name is not an anomaly, as Cabanis named it after Bojer for his general collecting, and not for collecting the Golden Palm Weaver specifically.

The first illustration of the Golden Palm Weaver was of the head of a male weaver by Sharpe (1890). This was followed by a colour painting, again of the head of a male, by Reichenow (1894). The next illustration pertaining to the Golden Palm Weaver was of several eggs with variation in colouration (Ogilvie-Grant 1912), although this may include eggs of the Eastern Golden Weaver.

Scientific citation

Meaning of names

First English name

Alternate names

Collector

Date collected

Locality collected

Type specimens

Distribution. The Golden Palm Weaver is found on the East African coast, and inland, from Kenya to Ethiopia (see map right, based on Birds of Africa). There are few records from Ethiopia, near the border with Somalia. In Somalia, it occurs on the Jubba and Shabeele Rivers and in Boni Forest. In Kenya it is found on the coast and inland along the Tana River, with a separate localized inland population. Records from Tanzania are now considered misidentifications and the species has been deleted from the Tanzanian list. No subspecies of the Golden Palm Weaver are recognised.

Habitat. The Golden Palm Weaver inhabits palm savanna on the coast, as well as riverine habitats and it extends into savanna in areas below 1200 m and with more than 500 mm annual rainfall inland.

Food. Food consists of seeds and insects. The Golden Palm Weaver is gregarious and roosts in flocks when not breeding.

Breeding. The Golden Palm Weaver is colonial, and suspected to be polygynous. It may occur in mixed colonies with Eastern Golden Weavers or with Village Weavers P. cucullatus. The male displays while hanging below the nest entrance, with his wings spread vertically, but wings usually move very little; the head may be bowed slowly.

The nest is spherical with no entrance tube. The male weaves the outer shell of long grass strips or strips from palm fronds and builds a complete inner shell of short grass strips. The female lines accepted nests with leaf fragments and fine grass heads. Nests are usually suspended under palm fronds or over water in thorn trees.

Clutch size is 2. The eggs are green, mottled with grey or reddish markings; sometimes eggs are white, overlaid with fawn. The introduced House Crow Corvus splendens raids colonies for eggs, young and adults in Mombasa.