Weaver species category
Choose different species category from drop-down list and press 'Go' button.'Sitagra' weavers
Reichenbach 1850a first used the subgenus 'Sitagra', from the Greek Sitos, corn; agra, catching, ie. corn-eaters. A variety of weavers were included in this group by different authors, the final revision being by Wolters 1982a, who upgraded this taxon to genus level and included 4 species.'Sitagra' weavers:
Little Weaver
Slender-billed Weaver
Loanga Weaver
Lesser Masked Weaver
These weavers generally have a slender bill (although thicker and shorter in Little Weaver). The breeding males have black masks, with pale or dark eyes. The females are generally olive-green above, and yellowish below.
The species cover much of Africa but there is significant overlap: the range of the Loanga Weaver (central west coast of Africa) is contained within the range of the Slender-billed Weaver; the ranges of Lesser Masked Weaver, Little Weaver and Slender-billed Weaver overlap in the lake Victoria region.
Mating system varies: the Lesser Masked Weaver is polygynous, Little and Slender-billed Weavers are monogamous, and Loanga Weaver is thought to be monogamous, but confirmation is needed. Nesting is usually in trees, but also in reeds, and nests often have a short entrance tube. At least three species have white eggs and clutch size is 2-3 (the eggs of the Loango Weaver are still undescribed).
Loanga Weaver (red), Lesser Masked Weaver (green), Little Weaver (yellow), Slender-billed Weaver (purple)