White-billed Buffalo Weaver
| White-billed Buffalo Weaver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ploceidae |
| Genus: | Bubalornis |
| Species: | B. albirostris |
| Binomial name | |
| Bubalornis albirostris (Vieillot, 1817) | |
The White-billed Buffalo Weaver (Bubalornis albirostris) is a resident breeding bird species in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
This common weaver occurs in open country, especially cultivation and scrub. It is a communal breeder, building massive untidy stick nests in tree colonies, each of which may have several spherical woven nests within. Two to four eggs are laid.
The White-billed Buffalo Weaver is large and stocky, commonly measuring 23 to 24 centimeters[citation needed]. The adult is mainly black with white flecking on the back and wings. The conical bill is very thick, and appears more so because it is surmounted by a white frontal shield. The bill is white in breeding males.
The adult female and non-breeding male are similar, but the bill is black. Young birds are dark brown in plumage.
The White-billed Buffalo Weaver is a gregarious species which feeds on grain and insects. This is a noisy bird, especially in colonies, with a range of cackles and squeaks.
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Bubalornis albirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1