Nelicourvi weaver

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Nelicourvi weaver

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae
Genus: Ploceus
Species:
P. nelicourvi
Binomial name
Ploceus nelicourvi
(Scopoli, 1786)
Synonyms
  • Parvus [Parus] nelicourvi, Nelicurvius nelicourvi
  • Loxia pensilis, Ploceus pensilis

The nelicourvi weaver (Ploceus nelicourvi) is a species of

least concern according to the IUCN Red List.[1]

Taxonomy

The nelicourvi weaver was first

International Ornithological Committee (IOC).[6] Vernacular names in Malagasi are fodisaina, fodifetsy and farifotramavo.[7]

Based on recent

P. hypoxanthus, although untested). Since Georges Cuvier picked P. philippinus as the type species
, these five species would logically remain assigned to the genus Ploceus.

Basic to the second group is a clade consisting of both species sofar included in Ploceus that live on Madagascar, P. nelicourvi and

P. sakalava, and these are morphologically very distinct from the remaining species. These two species could in future be assigned to the genus Nelicurvius that was erected by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1850, but which was merged with Ploceus later on. This second group further contains the genera Malimbus and Anaplectes, and all remaining Ploceus species.[5]

subfamily Ploceinae
"true Ploceus"

the five Asian species of Ploceus

genus

Foudia

genus Quelea

genus Euplectes

"reinstated Nelicurvius"

P. nelicourvi

P. sakalava

"extended Malimbus"

all mainland African species of "Ploceus", Malimbus and Anaplectes

Description

The nelicourvi weaver is a slender sparrow-like bird of 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighing 20–28 g (0.71–0.99 oz). During the breeding period, the male has a black beak, (reddish) brown eyes and blackish to brownish grey legs. His head is black, including the cheeks, around the ears, the forehead, crown and nape. The black is surrounded by a broad yellow collar, that includes chin, breast, side and back of the neck. The yellow collar is on the other side bordered by a vaguely defined olive-green band. The lower chest and belly are bluish-grey, the lower flanks grey with a greenish hue. The wing flight feathers are blackish, with those near the wing tips with narrow greenish yellow edges and those more to the base with broad olive-green edges. The alula and primary coverts are blackish, while all other coverts are bright olive green. The underside of the wing consists of light grey feathers with a yellowish tinge. The shoulders, and upper tailbase are also bright olive-green, the under tailbase chestnut-colored, while the tail flight feathers are blackish with wide olive-green. The non-breeding plumage differs in the black of the head which turns olive green, mottled with dark grey, and the presence of a narrow yellow brow.[8]

The front of the head of the female in breeding plumage is yellow, gradually changing to olive green at the back of the head, except for the broad yellow rear brow, while the area between the eye and the bill is dark greenish grey, and the area around the ear is green. The head is surrounded by a broad yellow collar that includes the chin. The remainder of the female breeding plumage is identical to the male's.[8]

The nelicourvi weaver can be distinguished from the related

Madagascar fody mostly have streaked upperparts and scarlet as the most obvious colour.[8]

Sound

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to Ploceus nelicourvi on xeno-canto

The usual call of the nelicourvi weaver is a high-pitched, very distinct chizz-chizz-chizz, which is more metallical and rasping when the birds are in feeding groups. Other calls that can be heard when the birds are at the nest include tsrrreee, tiang-tiang, and chet. The song, which is produced while being at the nest sounds like chiz-chizz-chswriissssiszz.[8]

Distribution and habitat

The nelicourvi weaver is an

Amber Mountain National Park. It mostly lives in moist mountain and lowland forest, but is also present in sclerophyllous mountain forests, bushland and thickets.[8]

Ecology and behaviour

leaf litter, probing crevices, and opening dead stems. It also dismembers flowers to reach the nectar. Mostly, arthropods (beetles, bugs, butterflies, caterpillars, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, stick insects, millipedes and spiders) are consumed, sometimes small vertebrates (lizards and chameleons), next to some nectar, fruit and probably seeds.[8]

Reproduction

The species is apparently

sedge, and palm fronds, with a thin lining of palm fibres at the bottom of the nesting chamber. The male constructs the structure of the nest while the female brings lining material. The total time used to construct the nest is approximately twelve days. A clutch consists of one to four (most often three) oval, smooth, somewhat shiny, variably pale blue-green eggs of about 20½ mm (0.8 in) long and 15 mm (0.6 in) in diameter.[8] The eggs are incubated only by the female for fifteen days before hatching.[9] The male lacks brood patches. Both parents feed the chicks and remove fecal sacs.[8]

Predation

Eggs sometimes fall prey to

brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus), and nest are raided by Madagascar harrier-hawks (Polyboroides radiatus). In the daytime, birds may be taken by banded kestrels (Falco zoniventris), while at night they are at risk of being captured by barn owls (Tyto alba).[8]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22718991A132123622.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Nelicourvi Weaver Ploceus nelicourvi". Weaver Watch. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
  3. ^ "Species taxon summary pensilis Gmelin, 1789 described in Loxia". AnimalBase. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  4. ^ Shaw, George (1826). General zoology or systematic natural history. Kearsley. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  5. ^
    S2CID 205841906
    .
  6. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches & weavers". World Bird List Version 7.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Nelicourvi weaver". Avibase. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
  8. ^
    ISBN 9780713665321
    . Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  9. S2CID 85217392
    . Retrieved 2017-06-17.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nelicourvi_weaver&oldid=1197697827"