Alternative name: Thick-billed Weaver
- Amblyospiza albifrons
Identification
18 cm (7 in); a large weaver with overall dark plumage and a heavy bill
Distribution
Most of Africa south of Sahara.
Taxonomy
This is the only member of its genus.
Subspecies
This species has ten subspecies[1]:
- A. a. capitalba: Senegal to south-western Nigeria
- A. a. saturata: south-eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, northern Gabon, northern Congo, south-western Central African Republic, north-western Democratic Republic of the Congo
- A. a. melanota: South Sudan, western and central Ethiopia, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, western Kenya, and northwestern Tanzania
- A. a. unicolor: Southern Somalia, coastal eastern Kenya, eastern Tanzania and extreme southern Malawi
Juvenile
Photo by nkgray
Lake Panic Bird Hide, near Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa January 2008
Photo by nkgray
Lake Panic Bird Hide, near Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa January 2008
- A. a. montana: Interior southern Kenya and Tanzania to Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe
- A. a. tandae: Northern Angola and extreme western Democratic Republic of the Congo
- A. a. kasaica: southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kasai)
- A. a. maxima: South-eastern Angola, Caprivi Strip, northern Botswana, extreme north-western Zimbabwe
- A. a. albifrons: eastern South Africa
- A. a. woltersi: Mozambique (south of Zambezi) and adjacent eastern Zimbabwe to Zululand
Habitat
Reedbeds, coastal and evergreen forests.
Behaviour
Diet
Their varied diet consists of seeds, soft fruit and insects.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved December 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Grosbeak Weaver. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grosbeak_Weaver
