Red-headed Weaver ( Anaplectes melanotis, family: Ploceidae)

red headed weaver Kruger National Park birds The Red-headed Weaver (Latin name Anaplectes melanotis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 819 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 1022 also a picture of the Red-headed Weaver on page 1024. The Red-headed Weaver belongs to the family of birds classified as Ploceidae.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Red-headed Weaver was called the . The Robert's 7 Latin name for Red-headed Weaver has changed from Anaplectes rubriceps in Robert's 6 to Anaplectes melanotis.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Red-headed Weaver is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Red-headed Weaver in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Red-headed Weaver : see above distribution map.

The Red-headed Weaver.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Red-headed Weaver is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Red-headed Weaver is about 15 cms and its weight is about 22 gms

You will find that the male Red-headed Weaver plumage and colours are different to that of the female Red-headed Weaver

  • Head is scarlet.
  • Eye is red.
  • Bill is red.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is scarlet.
  • Legs are brown.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Red-headed Weaver feeds on the ground, on the wing and in foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Nectar

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Red-headed Weaver takes on more than a single mate (it is bigamous).

The nesting habit of Red-headed Weaver is to lay eggs which are blue in colour and number between 1 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Red-headed Weaver are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas

You will not see Red-headed Weaver in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Rooikopwewer

German ... Scharlachweber

Portuguese ... Tecelo-de-cabea-vermelha

French ... Tisserin carlate

Dutch ... Scharlaken Wever

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 819

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za