From Opus

Female
Photo by rudydbn
Illovo Glen, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Ploceus ocularis

[edit] Identification

Length 15-16 cm, mass 30 g. Sexually dimorphic plumage; no seasonal variation. Brown forehead and crown with black line (spectacle) througth the eye. Upper parts olive green, and flight feathers olive brown with yellowish margins. Underparts golden-yellow, except for the black chin, throat and bib (in adult males) or chestnut-washed throat and upper chest (some females).

[edit] Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa: Cameroon to Ethiopia, and south to South Africa.

Male
Photo by Alan Manson
Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

[edit] Taxonomy

Three subspecies: P. o. ocularis Mozambique south of the Limpopo, Swaziland and eastern South Africa; P. o. crocatus from northern Namibia and northern Botswana to Angola, Cameroon, western Zambia, eastern Africa west of the Rift Valley, southern Sudan and Ethiopia, male has a yellower head, and smaller bib than nominate race; P. o. suahelicus from eastern Zimbabwe and Mozambique north of the Limpopo to Malawi, eastern Zambia, eastern Tanzania and coastal Kenya, smaller than nominate race, male washed golden brown.

[edit] Habitat

Well-wooded areas with thick cover, but avoids forest interior.

[edit] Behaviour

Resident in pairs with up to three young, remaining in their home range throughout the year. Forages in foliage and bark for invertebrates, berries, fruit and nectar. Inconspicuous, often located by the call, a loud decending tee-tee-tee-tee.

[edit] External Links