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Weavers? Entebbe, Uganda (May, 2019) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Cabintom
- Start date
Too me to.
I'm sure these two are identifiable - but maybe not by me. So, I'm going to bump this up by giving my (probably wrong) opinion.
The canary doesn't look chunky enough for Brimstone, and the face pattern isn't good for Yellow-fronted, which according to 'Birds of East Africa' are the two possibilities at that location. It doesn't have a white belly, so not White-bellied (slightly out of range also). I would go for Yellow-crowned, even though we can't see a yellow crown. This would also be very slightly out of range in this location. Anyway, these four are the only possibles, I think. Other opinions?
And if this were any canary except Brimstone, then the weaver would be Little Weaver female, based on size comparison, and I think the bird fits anyway.
But someone with a better eye than me should be able to give a more confident opinion.
The canary doesn't look chunky enough for Brimstone, and the face pattern isn't good for Yellow-fronted, which according to 'Birds of East Africa' are the two possibilities at that location. It doesn't have a white belly, so not White-bellied (slightly out of range also). I would go for Yellow-crowned, even though we can't see a yellow crown. This would also be very slightly out of range in this location. Anyway, these four are the only possibles, I think. Other opinions?
And if this were any canary except Brimstone, then the weaver would be Little Weaver female, based on size comparison, and I think the bird fits anyway.
But someone with a better eye than me should be able to give a more confident opinion.
I couldn't find any weaver that fit the features (overall colour, leg colour, eye colour, apparent bill size) either. Maybe I'm just looking at it wrongly.
I trust you weren't checking for that in the E Africa field guide. The weavers' bill-sizes in that book are grotesque.
Well, I don't know about that but, unless it's obvious, then I check against my own photos when I have them, and also flick through online images (usually just Google images).
Actually apart from no visible crown, the legs seem too red for Yellow-crowned - both could be influenced by the lighting conditions when the photo was taken. But otherwise overall it's the best fit I could find (I have photos of all four species of canary I mentioned; Yellow-crowned attached). So to repeat, maybe I'm just looking wrongly.
Still, if Butty is also stumped, then I am in good company
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First, thank you both for the effort!
How influenced by altitude are birds? (I'm more of a butterfly guy myself, and altitude plays heavily on where some species are found) Looking at the range of the Yellow-crowned Canary in Stevenson & Fanshawe gives me the impression that it is truly locked into higher altitude areas (which Lake Victoria/Entebbe is not).
How influenced by altitude are birds? (I'm more of a butterfly guy myself, and altitude plays heavily on where some species are found) Looking at the range of the Yellow-crowned Canary in Stevenson & Fanshawe gives me the impression that it is truly locked into higher altitude areas (which Lake Victoria/Entebbe is not).
I agree - but what alternative (canary or weaver) do you suggest? Maybe one of the Africa specialists will come along and give a confident ID. Your photos seem clear, so someone ought to be able to do this.
To be clear, I agree that your suggestion fits best, at least morphologically. I'm relatively inexperienced in the process of IDing birds and was looking to increase my understanding of altitude as a factor for distribution.
Well, that's all I have to offer. So let's hope someone else better than me comes across this post. The photos are good - however, in your original post you said 'the others', suggesting there were several, so if you have photos of the same (yellow) bird from a different angle, or other birds that you think are the same species, that would probably be helpful.
Yeah, that wasn't clear. I don't recall if the bird on the right of the first photo is the same individual as in the second photo.
I appreciate your help!
michael-ibk
Well-known member
I´d suggest Golden-Backed (Jackson´s) Weaver females . Since I´ve also just been to the Botanical Gardens in February I do know that they are around there. Leg colour, not much white on belly, pretty strong streaking on back. Seems a better match than Little Weaver.
The second photo is a bit odd but it does not feel like a Canary to me. Probably also a Weaver IMO, the angle could just be a bit misleading.
The second photo is a bit odd but it does not feel like a Canary to me. Probably also a Weaver IMO, the angle could just be a bit misleading.
[Just in case it's not just me that's confused—I was suggesting little weaver for the right hand birds in the initial 2 photos. I can't see the backs of those at all. The left hand bird in photo 1 is clearly a weaver...]
michael-ibk
Well-known member
Sorry since the Weaver on the left was never IDed down to species I thought I´d add in. I think it´s highly likely that the two in the first picture are the same species - size, shape, (Golden-Backed) Weavers being gregarious. And the leg colour for the bird on the right hand side in the first picture is a point against Little Weaver IMO. Just my two cents of course.
That's a good point and it spurred me to look at Macauley images. The legs in the OP pic do seem very pink. Macauley suggests that both species can appear to have more or less pink or grey legs. Few of the pics I looked at for golden-backed were as pink as the OP's, and none of the little weaver pics. I felt the bill shape and general colouration I saw for golden-backed was less close to the OP than the little weaver pics, but perhaps that's marginal.
[Edit]: perhaps this confirms the left hand bird?
Golden-backed Weaver - Ploceus jacksoni - Media Search - eBird and Macaulay Library
