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Mauritius Weaver (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Steve.Jonesy
- Start date
david kelly
Drive-by Birder
Could it be a female Village Weaver? They have been introduced to Mauritius.
David
David
Have to admit doesn't scream quelea for me. Lower bill colour off and looks too chunky in my view
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Madagascar (or other intro) Fody?
sicklebill
well-known Cretaceous relic
Village Weaver, common there.
david kelly
Drive-by Birder
I’ll be more definite this time. The thick bill, yellow on the face and hint on the wings point to Village Weaver rather than either fody found on Mauritius. Not that I have any experience of fodies but I have seen a few Village Weavers.
David
Richard Dale
Well-known member
It's red / Madagascar / common fody - lots of experience with both species having spent five field seasons working in Mauritius. Both are common on Mauritius.
Larry Sweetland
Formerly 'Larry Wheatland'
Well, we must see them differently then, because this doesn't look remotely like a Village Weaver to me
sicklebill
well-known Cretaceous relic
Agree with Red Fody, too hasty earlier and that is not a good idea at 0500.....
david kelly
Drive-by Birder
Sometimes, the birds in Mauritius are of the South African subspecies and the SASOL Guide says that the female Village (Spotted-backed) Weavers there sometimes have red eyes. I first saw them in a garden in Harare and they were called Spotted-backed Weavers in the Southern African field guides back then.
David
RafaelMatias
Unknown member
The "female" of the pair is apparently an immature/non-breeding male, but perhaps Tib can confirm this. The OP bird is clearly a Fody.
Brian J Small
Well-known member
Going against the tide of opinion here, but I am trying to reconcile the structure of this with a fody.
The bill looks pretty hefty to me and the tail long; the white tips to the median coverts are not neat blobs, but more like that of a weaver; the greater coverts have a more typical weaver pattern with uniform white or yellowish edges, and lacks the white tips that creat the g. cov. wingbar of a fody; the emarginations are strong and slightly arced.
Happy to be contradicted, but I am struggling with fody.
Brian S
The bill looks pretty hefty to me and the tail long; the white tips to the median coverts are not neat blobs, but more like that of a weaver; the greater coverts have a more typical weaver pattern with uniform white or yellowish edges, and lacks the white tips that creat the g. cov. wingbar of a fody; the emarginations are strong and slightly arced.
Happy to be contradicted, but I am struggling with fody.
Brian S
RafaelMatias
Unknown member
Brian, the most important feature here separating a Fody from a Ploceus is the crown spotting, imo. Ploceus females, immatures and eclipse plumage males never have spotting on the crown, and I believe this is extensive to all Ploceus species. This bird shows spotting organized in two bands on the sides of the crown, being slightly paler and less spotted on the centre of the crown, which is exactly the pattern present on a Fody. Additionally Euplectes weavers have much heavier crown spotting than this. The angle of this photo is not the best to see the spotting (because the feathers are slightly reflecting, attenuating the contrasts), but it is there.
Muso
Well-known member
LOL - never crossed my mind that this wasn't a pair...thanks for the info Rafael, and for being gentle with my ignorance. It seems the more I learn, the less I know...
Tib78
Well-known member
I am afraid you put to much faith in my abilities, Rafael
.More seriously though I think it is a female as the eye doesn’t look so red, beside, why would a certain individual be in full breeding plumage while another on is in non-breeding plumage?
As to ruling out a younger male, I won’t even try!
Brian,
The bill looks unusually hefty, I admit. On the other hand, the longish tail surely is better for a Fody than a weaver.
But one simply need to look at the mantle to definitely rule out Village weaver: it is way too contrasty with neat black centers and sharply contrasting pale edges. This pattern may be found in some species of weavers but not in Village. Also the head should practically always appear more yellowish in Village weaver, even in juveniles. And finally the legs are rather darkish reddish (as opposed to bright pink).
PS: I have been sorry to hear of the sad demise of Limosa via Andrea. I do hope things will better for everyone.
