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- Ploceus xanthopterus
Identification
Length 15 cm.
Breeding adult male: Bright yellow with a chestnut face, and throat; chestnut does not extend onto the forecrown (as it does in Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Rueppell's Weaver and Cape Weaver). The eyes are dull reddish brown.
Distribution
Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Taxonomy
Ploceus xanthopterus has three subspecies:[1]
- P. x. castaneigula
- P. x. xanthopterus
- Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and north-eastern Zimbabwe
- P. x. marleyi
- Extreme southern coastal Mozambique and coastal KwaZulu-Natal (eastern South Africa).
Habitat
Forest and scrub; breeds in reedbeds.
Behaviour
Diet includes seeds, berries, flowers and insects.
Vocalisation
A soft zweek, zweek and a swizzling song.
Breeding
Polygynous and territorial. Males may breed singly or in colonies of up to 300 nests. Builds a rather untidy nest over water in reedbeds; the nest has no entrance tube. Two to three eggs are incubated for 14-17 days by the female. The nestling period is 14-19 days; young are fed by the female only.
References
- 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.
- Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
- Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Southern Brown-throated Weaver. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Southern_Brown-throated_Weaver
