From Opus

Ploceus burnieri

[edit] Identification

14-15 cm. Medium-sized, green-and-yellow weaver. Breeding male: Crown, nape and underparts bright yellow. Contrasting, small black mask extends only to eye and onto throat, narrowly bordered by chestnut. Dark eye.

Female and non-breeding male: Dull version of breeding male, lacks black face. Black bill. Brownish-flesh legs.

[edit] Similar species

Northern Masked-Weaver P. taeniopterus less bright golden-yellow, more chestnut around black mask.

[edit] Distribution

Restricted to the floodplain of the Kilombero river, Tanzania.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic.

[edit] Habitat

Reedbeds and adjacent scrub.

[edit] Status

Classified as Vulnerable in the 2008 IUCN Red List.¹

[edit] Behaviour

The diet includes flowering and fruiting grass-heads, as well as dried fish and domestic refuse.

Nests are in loose groups of up to 20 (occasionally 30), each being attached to a single reed-stem, frequently overhanging water, in areas of seasonal flooding. Clutch-size is apparently 1-21.

[edit] References

1. BirdLife International. 2008. Species factsheet: Ploceus burnieri. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 8/11/2008.
2. Sinclair I & Ryan P. 2003. Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0620207299

[edit] External Links