Weaver

Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae
Genera
Many:see text
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. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black

Weavers get their name from the large woven nests many species make. These are elaborate structures of grass and twigs which may be suspended from a branch or have tubular entrance extensions. The buffalo-weavers, however, form massive untidy stick nests in their colonies, which may have several spherical woven nests within.

These are gregarious birds which often breed colonially. They sometimes cause crop damage, notably the Red-billed Quelea, reputed to be the world's most numerous bird.


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

  • Family: Ploceidae
    • White-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Bubalornis albirostris
    • Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Bubalornis niger
    • White-headed Buffalo-Weaver, Dinemellia dinemelli
    • Speckle-fronted Weaver, Sporopipes frontalis
    • Scaly Weaver, Sporopipes squamifrons
    • White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser mahali
    • Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser superciliosus
    • Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser rufoscapulatus
    • Donaldson-Smith's Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser donaldsoni
    • Rufous-tailed Weaver, Histurgops ruficauda
    • Grey-headed Social-Weaver, Pseudonigrita arnaudi
    • Black-capped Social-Weaver, Pseudonigrita cabanisi
    • Social Weaver, Philetairus socius
    • Bannerman's Weaver, Ploceus bannermani
    • Bates' Weaver, Ploceus batesi
    • Black-chinned Weaver, Ploceus nigrimentum
    • Baglafecht Weaver, Ploceus baglafecht
    • Bertrand's Weaver, Ploceus bertrandi
    • Slender-billed Weaver, Ploceus pelzelni
    • Loango Weaver, Ploceus subpersonatus
    • Little Weaver, Ploceus luteolus
    • Lesser Masked-Weaver, Ploceus intermedius
    • Spectacled Weaver, Ploceus ocularis
    • Black-necked Weaver, Ploceus nigricollis
    • Black-billed Weaver, Ploceus melanogaster
    • Strange Weaver, Ploceus alienus
    • Bocage's Weaver, Ploceus temporalis
    • Cape Weaver, Ploceus capensis
    • African Golden-Weaver, Ploceus subaureus
    • Holub's Golden-Weaver, Ploceus xanthops
    • Principe Golden-Weaver, Ploceus princeps
    • Orange Weaver, Ploceus aurantius
    • Golden Palm Weaver, Ploceus bojeri
    • Taveta Golden-Weaver, Ploceus castaneiceps
    • Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Ploceus xanthopterus
    • Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Ploceus castanops
    • Kilombero Weaver, Ploceus burnieri
    • Rueppell's Weaver, Ploceus galbula
    • Heuglin's Masked-Weaver, Ploceus heuglini
    • Northern Masked-Weaver, Ploceus taeniopterus
    • African Masked-Weaver, Ploceus velatus
    • Lufira Masked-Weaver, Ploceus reichardi
    • Village Weaver, Ploceus cucullatus
    • Giant Weaver, Ploceus grandis
    • Speke's Weaver, Ploceus spekei
    • Fox's Weaver, Ploceus spekeoides
    • Vieillot's Weaver, Ploceus nigerrimus
    • Weyns' Weaver, Ploceus weynsi
    • Clarke's Weaver, Ploceus golandi
    • Black-headed Weaver, Ploceus melanocephalus
    • Salvadori's Weaver, Ploceus dichrocephalus
    • Golden-backed Weaver, Ploceus jacksoni
    • Cinnamon Weaver, Ploceus badius
    • Chestnut Weaver, Ploceus rubiginosus
    • Golden-naped Weaver, Ploceus aureonucha
    • Yellow-mantled Weaver, Ploceus tricolor
    • Maxwell's Black Weaver, Ploceus albinucha
    • Nelicourvi Weaver, Ploceus nelicourvi
    • Sakalava Weaver, Ploceus sakalava
    • Streaked Weaver, Ploceus manyar
    • Baya Weaver, Ploceus philippinus
    • Asian Golden Weaver, Ploceus hypoxanthus
    • Yellow Weaver, Ploceus megarhynchus
    • Bengal Weaver, Ploceus benghalensis
    • Forest Weaver, Ploceus bicolor
    • Preuss' Weaver, Ploceus preussi
    • Yellow-capped Weaver, Ploceus dorsomaculatus
    • Usambara Weaver, Ploceus nicolli
    • Olive-headed Weaver, Ploceus olivaceiceps
    • Brown-capped Weaver, Ploceus insignis
    • Bar-winged Weaver, Ploceus angolensis
    • Sao Tome Weaver, Ploceus sanctithomae
    • Compact Weaver, Pachyphantes superciliosus
    • Yellow-legged Malimbe, Malimbus flavipes
    • Red-crowned Malimbe, Malimbus coronatus
    • Black-throated Malimbe, Malimbus cassini
    • Ballman's Malimbe, Malimbus ballmanni
    • Rachel's Malimbe, Malimbus racheliae
    • Red-vented Malimbe, Malimbus scutatus
    • Ibadan Malimbe, Malimbus ibadanensis
    • Red-bellied Malimbe, Malimbus erythrogaster
    • Gray's Malimbe, Malimbus nitens
    • Crested Malimbe, Malimbus malimbicus
    • Red-headed Malimbe, Malimbus rubricollis
    • Red-headed Weaver, Anaplectes rubriceps
    • Bob-tailed Weaver, Brachycope anomala
    • Cardinal Quelea, Quelea cardinalis
    • Red-headed Quelea, Quelea erythrops
    • Red-billed Quelea, Quelea quelea
    • Red Fody, Foudia madagascariensis
    • Red-headed Fody, Foudia eminentissima
    • Forest Fody, Foudia omissa
    • Mauritius Fody, Foudia rubra
    • Seychelles Fody, Foudia sechellarum
    • Rodrigues Fody, Foudia flavicans
    • Yellow-crowned Bishop, Euplectes afer
    • Fire-fronted Bishop, Euplectes diadematus
    • Black Bishop, Euplectes gierowii
    • Black-winged Bishop, Euplectes hordeaceus
    • Orange Bishop, Euplectes franciscanus
    • Red Bishop, Euplectes orix
    • Zanzibar Bishop, Euplectes nigroventris
    • Golden-backed Bishop, Euplectes aureus
    • Yellow Bishop, Euplectes capensis
    • Fan-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes axillaris
    • Yellow-shouldered Widowbird, Euplectes macrourus
    • White-winged Widowbird, Euplectes albonotatus
    • Red-collared Widowbird, Euplectes ardens
    • Marsh Widowbird, Euplectes hartlaubi
    • Buff-shouldered Widowbird, Euplectes psammocromius
    • Long-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes progne
    • Jackson's Widowbird, Euplectes jacksoni
    • Parasitic Weaver, Anomalospiza imberbis
    • Grosbeak Weaver Amblyospiza albifrons