Ploceidae

Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus )

The weaver birds ( Ploceidae ), also Widahfinken, are a species-rich family from the order of perching birds ( Passeriformes ). The family includes 119 species in 16 genera. The name derives was the conspicuous nest, which is characteristic of many species of weaver birds.

Occurrence

Most species inhabit forested areas, bushland and open grassland in Africa, south of the Sahara. Only a few species live and breed in the tropical areas in Asia.

Life and characteristics

Many species of weaver birds are synanthropic. That is, they live near the people. The body size is between 8 and 24 inches. The breeding plumage has in the male weaver birds usually a yellow- black, gray-black, or black and white plumage. The females are colored nondescript usually. In plumage the male resembles the female. They have a short, strong beak, which is relatively thick at the root.

Nutrition

The loud and sociable weaver birds feed on insects, fruits, grains and seeds. They are often found in large groups and can cause tremendous damage to the wheat fields, such as the red-billed Weaver ( Quelea quelea ). The flocks of red-billed weaver can include up to 100,000 individuals who roam in search of food in a wide area. For East Africa, there is evidence that individual swarms over 1,000 kilometers cover in their migrations.

Nesting

Many species of weaver birds colony breeders. The colonies may include thousands of birds. Often densely hanging in the canopy of the trees, the hanging nests together.

Construction

In the weaver birds mainly build the bright brightly colored, polygamous males the complicated woven, ornate hanging nests with long, high tensile strength and flexible vegetable fibers, feathers, or wool. With the nests that are created before the courtship, the males try to attract the plain -colored females. In many species, several nests are built by a male to make sure that the female of one of the nests takes. If a nest is accepted by a female, it provides for the expansion of the inner region. The nests have a spherical or bottle- shaped appearance, the input ranges are either sideways or downwards. The shape of the nest and the nest construction technique varies from species to species For species such as the rove Weaver (Ploceus nigricollis ), the nest a long downward hanging input tube. The nest material is attached with special knots and loops among other things on the branches of trees, in bushes or reeds. The flexible plant fibers are wrapped around a branch. Then the collected grass blades are linked. As the bird holds the blade, he devours the end of the straw with his beak and produced over time a free-running shell, which will be expanded gradually to a nest.

In addition to the individual nests and communal nests are built. The Siedelwebern ( Philetairus socius ) or even at the buffalo weavers ( Bubalornis niger) build the males together on a large nest of dry grass, which is applied in trees or on telephone poles. It can reach a height of about three meters and a width of about 4.5 meters. The nest is divided into many defined areas and is home to hundreds of birds. The tubular entry holes are located below the nest. At a community nest is constantly built. Therefore, it may happen that the trees collapse under the weight. Particularly problematic is in power or telephone poles. To counteract a collapse of the mast, the nests must often be destroyed by man.

Individual phases

Individual stages of nest building on the example of the village weaver ( Ploceus cucullatus ):

Predators

During the breeding season the chicks are threatened by large birds such as the eagle and the marabou as well as snakes, which will be more difficult access to the chicks through the often narrow entrance holes below the nest and the location of the nest at the tips of the branches.

Genera and species

The systematics of the weaver birds follows, unless otherwise specified, Monroe and Sibley (1993).

  • Bubalornis ( 2 types) Alektoweber ( Bubalornis albirostris )
  • Buffalo Weaver ( Bubalornis niger)
  • Star Weber ( Dinemellia dinemelli )
  • Shed head ( Sporopipes frontalis)
  • Mustache ( Sporopipes squamifrons )
  • Bannerman's Weaver (Ploceus bannermani )
  • Brown cheeks Weaver (Ploceus batesi )
  • Black-chinned Weaver (Ploceus nigrimentus )
  • Baglafechtweber ( Ploceus Baglafecht )
  • Bertrand- Weaver (Ploceus bert randi )
  • Billed Weaver ( Ploceus pelzelni )
  • Loangoweber ( Ploceus subpersonatus )
  • Dwarf Weaver (Ploceus luteolus )
  • Cabanis- Weaver (Ploceus intermedius )
  • Glasses Weaver (Ploceus ocularis )
  • Rove Weaver (Ploceus nigricollis )
  • Black Belly Weaver (Ploceus melanogaster )
  • Meis Weaver (Ploceus alienus )
  • Bocage - Weaver (Ploceus temporalis )
  • Kapweber ( Ploceus capensis )
  • Gold Weaver (Ploceus subaureus )
  • Saffron Weaver (Ploceus xanthops )
  • Prince Weaver (Ploceus princeps)
  • King Weaver (Ploceus aurantius )
  • Palm Weaver (Ploceus bojeri )
  • Neck ribbon weaver ( Ploceus castaneiceps )
  • Brown -throated Weaver (Ploceus xanthopterus )
  • Ried Weaver (Ploceus castanops )
  • Kilombero Weaver (Ploceus burnieri )
  • Gilbweber ( Ploceus galbula )
  • Heuglin - Weaver (Ploceus heuglini )
  • Golden-mantled Weaver (Ploceus taeniopterus )
  • Victoria Weaver (Ploceus victoriae )
  • Yolk Weaver (Ploceus vitellinus )
  • Masked Weaver ( Ploceus velatus )
  • Katangaweber ( Ploceus katangae )
  • Ruwet - Weaver (Ploceus ruweti )
  • Reichard - Weaver (Ploceus reichardi )
  • Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus )
  • Giant Weaver (Ploceus grandis)
  • Somali Weaver (Ploceus spekei )
  • Fox Weaver (Ploceus spekeoides )
  • Mohr Weaver (Ploceus nigerrimus )
  • Weyns - Weaver (Ploceus weynsi )
  • Goland - Weaver (Ploceus golandi )
  • Schwarzkopf Weaver (Ploceus melanocephalus )
  • Gelbrücken Weaver (Ploceus dicrocephalus )
  • Jackson - Weaver (Ploceus jacksoni )
  • Humeral spot Weaver (Ploceus badius )
  • Maron Weaver (Ploceus rubiginosus )
  • Gold neck Weaver (Ploceus aureonucha )
  • Three colors Weaver (Ploceus tricolor)
  • Mourning Weaver (Ploceus albinucha )
  • Green Weaver (Ploceus nelicourvi )
  • Sakalavenweber ( Ploceus Sakalava )
  • Bengal Weaver (Ploceus benghalensis)
  • Manyarweber ( Ploceus Manyar )
  • Bajaweber ( Ploceus philippinus )
  • Grosbeak Weaver (Ploceus hypoxanthus )
  • Grosbeak weaver ( Ploceus megarhynchus )
  • Forest Weaver (Ploceus bicolor)
  • Preuss - Weaver (Ploceus preussi )
  • Yellow cap Weaver (Ploceus dorsomaculatus )
  • Nicoll - Weaver (Ploceus Nicolli )
  • Olivkopfweber ( Ploceus olivaceiceps )
  • Brown cap Weaver (Ploceus insignis )
  • Miomboweber ( Ploceus angolensis )
  • St. Thomas Weaver (Ploceus sanctaethomae )
  • Braunbürzelweber ( Ploceus superciliosus )
  • Gelbfußweber ( Ploceus flavipes )
  • Crown Weber ( Malimbus coronatus )
  • Cassin Weber ( Malimbus cassini )
  • Ballmann -Weber ( Malimbus ball manni )
  • Rachel Weber ( Malimbus racheliae )
  • Sign Weber ( Malimbus scutatus )
  • Ibadanweber ( Malimbus ibadanensis )
  • Rotbauchweber ( Malimbus erythrogaster )
  • Rotkehlweber ( Malimbus nitens )
  • Hood Weber ( Malimbus malimbicus )
  • Climbing Weber ( Malimbus rubricollis )
  • Scarlet Weber ( Anaplectes rubriceps )
  • Short-tailed Weaver ( Brachycope anomala )
  • Cardinal Weber ( Quelea cardinalis)
  • Rotkopfweber ( Quelea erythrops )
  • Red-billed Weaver ( Quelea quelea )
  • Madagascar Weber ( Foudia madagascariensis )
  • Komorenweber ( Foudia eminentissima )
  • Rothschild Weber ( Foudia omissa )
  • Mauritius Weber ( Foudia rubra)
  • Seychellenweber ( Foudia sechellarum )
  • Rodriguezweber ( Foudia flavicans )
  • Reunion Weber ( Foudia delloni ) - extinct
  • Tahaweber ( Euplectes afer)
  • Diadem Weber ( Euplectes diadematus )
  • Bishop Weber ( Euplectes gierowii )
  • Flame - Wida ( Euplectes hordeaceus )
  • Feuerwida ( Euplectes franciscanus )
  • Red Bishop ( Euplectes orix )
  • Brand Weber ( Euplectes nigroventris )
  • Gold backs Weber ( Euplectes aureus)
  • Samtwida ( Euplectes capensis )
  • Stummelwida ( Euplectes axillaris )
  • Gelbschulterwida ( Euplectes macroura )
  • Spiegelwida ( Euplectes albonotatus )
  • Schildwida ( Euplectes ardens )
  • Hartlaub - Wida ( Euplectes hartlaubi )
  • Reichenow- Wid ( Euplectes psammocromius )
  • Hahnschweifwida ( Euplectes progne )
  • Leierschwanzwida ( Euplectes jacksoni )
  • Cuckoo Weber ( Anomalospiza imberbis )
  • White-fronted Weaver ( Amblyospiza albifrons )
Carl Jakob Sundevall Cereal Red-billed Quelea Golden-backed Weaver Bannerman's Weaver Bates's Weaver Rüppell's Weaver Southern Masked Weaver Usambara Weaver Cardinal Quelea
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