- Ploceus badius
Identification
Male: Black hood covering much of the head and bib. Underparts cinnamon-chestnut, with varying amounts of yellow on the belly and vent. Mantle cinnamon-chestnut with some yellow streaking. Flight feathers and coverts edged with yellow. Dark eye and bill. Pale flesh legs.
Female: Cave and MacDonald (1955) describe the female as "Above, streaky brown and cinnamon with olive head and yellow eyebrow. Wings broadly edged with pale yellow. Below creamy white, rather richer on breast".
Similar species
In the south-eastern part of South Sudan and by the Ethiopian border in Sudan, confusion could be made with male Chestnut Weaver, which has a similar (though less extensive) dark hood and chestnut colouration. However, it lacks the yellow on the belly and yellow edging to the flight feathers of Cinnamon Weaver and has a red eye. In the same areas, Yellow-backed Weaver could be a confusion species and in the south of South Sudan Golden-backed Weaver could also be a confusion species. Both of these species have yellow mantles, plus Yellow-backed Weaver has a yellow nape and Golden-backed Weaver has a red eye.
Distribution
Eastern Africa: found in Sudan and South Sudan (Nile tributaries south to the borders with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and east to the border with Ethiopia).
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Subspecies axillaris is not recognised by most authorities[2].
Habitat
Nikolaus (1987) describes the habitat of northern birds (P. b. badius) as "Bushed and wooded grassland along the banks of the Nile", and of southern birds (P. b. axillaris) as "Tall grassland near water".
Behaviour
Nothing has been published on the behaviour of this species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Avibase
- Nikolaus, G. (1987) Distribution Atlas of Sudan's Birds with Notes on Habitat and Status. Bonner Zoologische Monographien, Nr. 25.
- Cave, F. O. and MacDonald, J. D. (1955) Birds of the Sudan. Oliver and Boyd.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Cinnamon Weaver. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cinnamon_Weaver
External Links
BF thread showing two more pictures Birding Sudan blog shows additional pictures
