Weaver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

iWeaver

Slender-billed Weaver

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Ploceidae Sundevall, 1836

Genera

Many:see text

For other meanings, see Weaver (disambiguation).

The Weavers are small passerine birds related to the finches.

These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which breed in sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical Asia and also in Australia. The weaver group is divided into the buffalo, sparrow, typical, and widow weavers. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black, some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season.

Weaver birds, also known as weaver finches get their name because of their elaborately woven nests (the most elaborate of any birds), though some are notable for their selective parasitic nesting habits. The nests vary in size, shape, material used and construction techniques from species to species. Materials used for building nests include fine leaf-fibers, grass and twigs. Many species weave very fine nests using thin strands of leaf fiber, and some like the buffalo-weavers, however, form massive untidy stick nests in their colonies, which may have several spherical woven nests within. The sparrow weavers of Africa build apartment-house nests, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing upside down.

The weavers are gregarious birds which often breed colonially. The birds build their nests together, often several to a branch. Usually the male birds weave the nests and use them as a form of display to lure prospective females. The weaver bird colonies may be found close to water bodies. They sometimes cause crop damage, notably the Red-billed Quelea, reputed to be the world's most numerous bird.

[edit] Species list in taxonomic order

Male Speke's Weaver in the Serengeti, Tanzania

Weaver birds and nests in western India.

Village Weaver colony in The Gambia. The nests are the spherical suspended objects

Weaver bird nest at Kotaballappalli, Karnataka, India.

Weaver bird weaving a nest at Kotaballappalli, Karnataka, India.

Weaver bird hanging down its nest at Kotaballappalli, Karnataka, India.

Weaver birds and a bunch of nests at Kotaballappalli, Karnataka, India.

Genus: Anomalospiza
- Grosbeak Weaver, Amblyospiza albifrons
- Parasitic Weaver, Anomalospiza imberbis

Genus: Anaplectes
- Red-headed Weaver, Anaplectes rubriceps

Genus: Bracycope
- Bob-tailed Weaver, Brachycope anomala

Genus: Bubalornis
- Red-billed Buffalo-weaver, Bubalornis niger
- White-billed Buffalo-weaver, Bubalornis albirostris

Genus: Dinemellia
- White-headed Buffalo-weaver, Dinemellia dinemelli

Genus: Euplectes
- Black Bishop, Euplectes gierowii
- Black-winged Red Bishop, Euplectes hordeaceus
- Buff-shouldered Widowbird, Euplectes psammocromius
- Fan-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes axillaris
- Fire-fronted Bishop, Euplectes diadematus
- Golden-backed Bishop, Euplectes aureus
- Jackson's Widowbird, Euplectes jacksoni
- Long-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes progne
- Marsh Widowbird, Euplectes hartlaubi
- Northern Red Bishop, Euplectes orix
- Orange Bishop, Euplectes franciscanus
- Red-collared Widowbird, Euplectes ardens
- White-winged Widowbird, Euplectes albonotatus
- Yellow Bishop, Euplectes capensis
- Yellow-crowned Bishop, Euplectes afer
- Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, Euplectes macrourus
- Zanzibar Bishop, Euplectes nigroventris

Genus: Foudia
- Forest Fody, Foudia omissa
- Mauritius Fody, Foudia rubra
- Red Fody, Foudia madagascariensis
- Red-headed Fody, Foudia eminentissima
- Rodrigues Fody, Foudia flavicans
- Seychelles Fody, Foudia sechellarum

Genus: Histurgops
- Rufous-tailed Weaver, Histurgops ruficauda

Genus: Malimbus
- Ballmann's Malimbe, Malimbus ballmanni
- Black-throated Malimbe, Malimbus cassini
- Crested Malimbe, Malimbus malimbicus
- Gray's Malimbe, Malimbus nitens
- Ibadan Malimbe, Malimbus ibadanensis
- Rachel's Malimbe, Malimbus racheliae
- Red-bellied Malimbe, Malimbus erythrogaster
- Red-crowned Malimbe, Malimbus coronatus
- Red-headed Malimbe, Malimbus rubricollis
- Red-vented Malimbe, Malimbus scutatus
- Yellow-legged Malimbe, Malimbus flavipes
Genus: Pacyphantes
- Compact Weaver, Pachyphantes superciliosus

Genus: Philetairus
- Social Weaver, Philetairus socius

Genus: Plocepasser
- Chestnut-backed Sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser rufoscapulatus
- Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser superciliosus
- Donaldson-Smith's Sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser donaldsoni
- White-browed Sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser mahali

Genus: Ploceus
- African Golden-weaver, Ploceus subaureus
- African Masked-weaver, Ploceus velatus
- Asian Golden Weaver, Ploceus hypoxanthus
- Baglafecht Weaver, Ploceus baglafecht
- Bannerman's Weaver, Ploceus bannermani
- Bar-winged Weaver, Ploceus angolensis
- Bates' Weaver, Ploceus batesi
- Baya Weaver, Ploceus philippinus
- Bengal Weaver, Ploceus benghalensis
- Bertrand's Weaver, Ploceus bertrandi
- Black-billed Weaver, Ploceus melanogaster
- Black-chinned Weaver, Ploceus nigrimentum
- Black-headed Weaver, Ploceus melanocephalus
- Black-necked Weaver, Ploceus nigricollis
- Bocage's Weaver, Ploceus temporalis
- Brown-capped Weaver, Ploceus insignis
- Cape Weaver, Ploceus capensis
- Chestnut Weaver, Ploceus rubiginosus
- Cinnamon Weaver, Ploceus badius
- Clarke's Weaver, Ploceus golandi
- Forest Weaver, Ploceus bicolor
- Fox's Weaver, Ploceus spekeoides
- Giant Weaver, Ploceus grandis
- Golden Palm Weaver, Ploceus bojeri
- Golden-backed Weaver, Ploceus jacksoni
- Golden-naped Weaver, Ploceus aureonucha
- Heuglin's Masked-weaver, Ploceus heuglini
- Holub's Golden-weaver, Ploceus xanthops
- Kilombero Weaver, Ploceus burnieri
- Lesser Masked-weaver, Ploceus intermedius
- Little Weaver, Ploceus luteolus
- Loango Weaver, Ploceus subpersonatus
- Maxwell's Black Weaver, Ploceus albinucha
- Nelicourvi Weaver, Ploceus nelicourvi
- Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Ploceus castanops
- Northern Masked-weaver, Ploceus taeniopterus
- Olive-headed Weaver, Ploceus olivaceiceps
- Orange Weaver, Ploceus aurantius
- Preuss' Weaver, Ploceus preussi
- Principe Golden-weaver, Ploceus princeps
- Rueppell's Weaver, Ploceus galbula
- Sakalava Weaver, Ploceus sakalava
- Salvadori's Weaver, Ploceus dichrocephalus
- Sao Tome Weaver, Ploceus sanctithomae
- Slender-billed Weaver, Ploceus pelzelni
- Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Ploceus xanthopterus
- Spectacled Weaver, Ploceus ocularis
- Speke's Weaver, Ploceus spekei
- Strange Weaver, Ploceus alienus
- Streaked Weaver, Ploceus manyar
- Tanzania Masked-weaver, Ploceus reichardi
- Taveta Golden-weaver, Ploceus castaneiceps
- Usambara Weaver, Ploceus nicolli
- Vieillot's Weaver, Ploceus nigerrimus
- Village Weaver, Ploceus cucullatus
- Weyns' Weaver, Ploceus weynsi
- Yellow Weaver, Ploceus megarhynchus
- Yellow-capped Weaver, Ploceus dorsomaculatus
- Yellow-mantled Weaver, Ploceus tricolor