From Opus

Male
Photo by xentox
Liberia, Summer 2005

Ploceus cucullatus

[edit] Identification

15-17cm
Strong conical bill
Breeding male

• Black head and bill
• Chestnut nape
• Upperparts and wings are yellow and black
• Yellow underparts
  

Breeding male
Scottishdude
Gambia March, 2010

Non-breeding male

• Yellow head
• Olive crown
• Grey upperparts
• Whitish underparts
• Yellow and black wings
• Red eyes
  

Adult female

• Dark eyes
• Streaked olive upperparts
• Yellow and black wings
• Pale yellow underparts
  

Young birds browner back, otherwise similar to the female

[edit] Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Swaziland
African Islands: Gulf of Guinea Islands, Bioko (Fernando Po), Sao Tome, Principe, Mauritius and Reunion

Escaped populations can be found in many countries world-wide and has been introduced to Haiti.

[edit] Taxonomy

Ploceus cucullatus has eight subspecies:^[1]

• P. c. cucullatus

• Mauritania to Chad, south to northern Gabon and north-western DRC; also Bioko

• P. c. collaris

• Gabon to south-western DRC and northern Angola

• P. c. bohndorffi

• Northern Gabon to northern DRC, Uganda, western Kenya and south-western Sudan

• P. c. frobenii

• Southern DRC

• P. c. graueri

• Eastern DRC to Rwanda, Burundi and adjacent western Tanzania

• P. c. abyssinicus

• Ethiopia and south-eastern Sudan

• P. c. nigriceps

• Southern Somalia to Kenya, Tanzania and northern Mozambique; also São Tomé

• P. c. spilonotus

• South-eastern Botswana to southern Mozambique, South Africa and Lesotho

[edit] Habitat

They occupy a variety of open habitats, from open woodlands to towns and villages.

[edit] Behaviour

They often form large noisy colonies.

[edit] Breeding

The large nest is coarsely woven from grass and leaf strips, suspended from a branch. It has a downward facing entrance. The clutch consists of 2-3 eggs.

A colonial breeder, many nests may be found in a single tree.

[edit] Diet

Their diet consists mostly of seeds and grain, and can be a crop pest; also insects, particularly when feeding young.

[edit] Vocalisation

Call: includes harsh buzzes and chattering

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Avian Web

• List of references

[edit] External Links