Ploceidae

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Weavers
A male village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi), building his nest
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Passeroidea
Family: Ploceidae
Sundevall, 1836
Genera

See text.

Ploceidae is a family of small

Amblyospizinae. The family is believed to have originated in the mid-Miocene.[1] All birds of the Ploceidae are native to the Old World, most in Africa south of the Sahara, though a few live in tropical areas of Asia. A few species have been introduced outside their native range.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The family Ploceidae was introduced (as Ploceïdes) by Swedish zoologist

sister to a clade containing the families Viduidae and Estrildidae[5] Their common ancestor lived in the middle Miocene around 18 million years ago.[6]

A 2017

polyphyletic.[7][8] A cladogram based on these results is shown below.[8]

Ploceidae

Amblyospiza
– thick-billed weaver

Sporopipes – 2 species (weavers)

Plocepasser
– 4 species (sparrow-weavers)

Philetairus
– sociable weaver

Pseudonigrita – 2 species (social weavers)

Dinemellia
– white-headed buffalo weaver

Bubalornis – 2 species (buffalo weavers)

Euplectes – 18 species (bishops and widowbirds)

Ploceus – 5 species (Asian weavers)

Quelea – 3 species (queleas)

Pachyphantes
– compact weaver

Foudia
– 8 species (fodies)

Ploceus – 2 species (Sakalava weaver and Nelicourvi weaver)

Ploceus+Malimbus+Anaplectes – 60 + 10 + 2 = 72 species

Genera

The family includes 15 genera with a total of 122 species.

list of Ploceidae species
.

Image Genus Species
Bubalornis A. Smith, 1836
Dinemellia Reichenbach, 1863
Plocepasser
 A. Smith, 1836
Histurgops Reichenow, 1887
Pseudonigrita Reichenow, 1903
Philetairus A. Smith, 1837
Sporopipes Cabanis, 1847
Amblyospiza Sundevall, 1850
Ploceus Cuvier, 1816
Malimbus Vieillot, 1805
Quelea Reichenbach, 1850
Anaplectes Reichenbach, 1863
Foudia
 Reichenbach, 1850
Brachycope Reichenow, 1900
Euplectes Swainson, 1829

Description

The males of many species in this family are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black. Some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills.

Distribution and habitat

The weaverbird colonies may be found close to bodies of water.

Behaviour and ecology

Weavers are named for their elaborately woven nests. The nests vary in size, shape, material used, and construction techniques from species to species. Materials used for building nests include fine leaf fibers, grass, and twigs. Many species weave very fine nests using thin strands of leaf fiber, though some, like the buffalo-weavers, form massive untidy stick nests in their colonies, which may have spherical woven nests within. The

sparrow weavers live in family units that employ cooperative breeding.[10]
Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.

Many weaver species are gregarious and breed colonially.[2] The birds build their nests together for protection, often several to a branch. Usually the male birds weave the nests and use them as a form of display to lure prospective females.

Relationship to humans

They sometimes cause crop damage, notably the red-billed quelea, reputed to be the world's most numerous bird.[11][12]

Gallery

  • A nest in the early stages of construction
    A nest in the early stages of construction
  • Weaverbirds at West Bengal
    Weaverbirds at West Bengal
  • Adult Sporopipes at its spherical grass nest, placed in a shrub
    Adult
    Sporopipes
     at its spherical grass nest, placed in a shrub
  • Plocepasser nest in Namibia, for year-round occupation.[10]
    Plocepasser nest in Namibia, for year-round occupation.[10]
  • Communal Philetairus nests in central Namibia
    Communal
    Philetairus
     nests in central Namibia
  • Pseudonigrita nest in Kenya, with entrance below
    Pseudonigrita
     nest in Kenya, with entrance below
  • Black-breasted weaver nest suspended from grass, India
    Black-breasted weaver nest suspended from grass, India
  • A baya weaver on his unfinished nest, northern India
    A baya weaver on his unfinished nest, northern India
  • Nests of a baya weaver colony suspended from a palm tree, India
    Nests of a baya weaver colony suspended from a palm tree, India
  • Male Quelea at nest concealed in thorny Senegalia shrub
    Male
    Quelea at nest concealed in thorny Senegalia
    shrub
  • Red bishop constructing a nest in reeds, South Africa
    Red bishop constructing a nest in reeds, South Africa
  • Nests of a colony of Sakalava weavers, Madagascar
    Nests of a colony of Sakalava weavers, Madagascar
  • Spherical village weaver nests suspended from a palm tree, West Africa
    Spherical village weaver nests suspended from a palm tree, West Africa
  • A southern masked weaver building his nest, Namibia
    A southern masked weaver building his nest, Namibia
  • Hanging nest, Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 2019.
    Hanging nest,
    Hargeysa
    , Somaliland, July 2019.

References

  1. S2CID 205841906
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-84-96553-68-2
    .
  3. hdl:2246/830
    .
  4. ^ Sundevall, Carl Jakob (1836). "Ornithologiskt system". Kongliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar. 23: 43–130 [74].
  5. doi:10.1093/auk/ukz041
    .
  6. PMID 30936315
    .
  7. S2CID 205841906
    .
  8. ^
    doi:10.1093/auk/ukz041
    .
  9. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  10. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1982.tb03795.x
    .
  11. ^ Fry, C.H. & Keith, S. (2004) The birds of Africa vol. VII. Christopher Helm, London
  12. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22719128A132125738.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ploceidae.
Wikispecies has information related to Ploceidae.
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