Introduction

The Olive-headed Weaver was collected by Friedrich Fulleborn, a Prussian physician.

Fulleborn studied medicine and natural sciences in Berlin. From 1896 onward, he was a military physician assigned to the Schutztruppe in German East Africa (Tanzania). In 1898-1900 he participated in the Nyassa- und Kingagebirgs Expedition to southern Tanzania, where he conducted anthropological and ethnographic research. He also collected bird specimens, which he sent to Berlin. He found the type of the Olive-headed Weaver near the source of the Rovuma River while near Songea.

The first illustration of the Olive-headed Weaver was of an adult, published by Reichenow (1902). The next illustration was published much later by Mackworth (1955).

Scientific citation

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Type specimens

The female has a wholly olive head, and less chestnut on the breast. The juvenile is similar to the female but with a yellow chin and throat. The poorly-known Usambara Weaver is similar to this species, but their ranges do not overlap.

Distribution. The Olive-headed Weaver occurs in Tanzania, east Zambia, Malawi and Mombique (see map left, based on Birds of Africa). The northern-most record (from Mwamazengu, Tanzania) is from as recently as 1998. The southern Mozambique population has been described as a subspecies but the description was based on inadequate comparative specimens, and thus the species is treated as monotypic.

The isolated population near Panda in southern Mozambique is separated by more than 600 km from any other known sites. There are about 100 pairs in the Panda area compared to a global population estimate of about 20000 pairs (1998). This species is near threatened, but the situation may worsen with increasing habitat loss.

Habitat. The Olive-headed Weaver inhabits mature miombo (Brachystegia) woodland where Usnealichen is abundant.

Food. The Olive-headed Weaver feeds on insects, including butterflies and moths, beetles, bugs, and small wasps. It forages on tree trunks, clinging to the bark, and moving along the under and upper surfaces of branches, probing almost entirely in lichens. It is usually solitary or found in pairs, even when foraging in mixed bird parties.

Breeding. The Olive-headed Weaver is a monogamous, solitary nester, and the pair remains together all year. The nest is constructed entirely of Usnea, and is always placed in a thick clump of lichen, using living strands growing on a branch as a basis. The nest is placed on the underside of a thick branch rather than the tips of twigs. The nest is sited up to 18 m above the ground, generally near the crown of a tree. A short spout is usually added to the nest, but some nests lack a spout. Both male and female build the nest.

Eggs are plain turquoise-blue or white. Incubation and feeding of chicks is by both sexes, but much more by the female in both cases. Bohm's Flycatchers may breed in old Olive-headed Weaver nests.