Village Weaver ( Ploceus cucullatus, family: Ploceidae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Spotted-backed Weaver
The Village Weaver (Latin name Ploceus cucullatus) is described in
Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique
Roberts number of 811 and you will find a full description of this bird
on page 1018 also a picture of the Village Weaver on page 1024. The
Village Weaver belongs to the family of birds classified as Ploceidae.
According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the
Village Weaver is also known by these other names: Black-headed Weaver,
Black-headed Village Weaver, Layard's Black-headed Weaver, Rufous-necked
Weaver, Golden Oriole Weaver, V-marked Weaver.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Village Weaver was called the Spotted-backed Weaver
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 Village Weaver is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.
In terms of distribution of the Village Weaver in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Village Weaver : see above distribution map.
The Village 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 Village 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 Village Weaver is about 17 cms and its weight is about 37 gms
You will find that the male Village Weaver plumage and colours are different to that of the female Village Weaver
- Head is yellow.
- Eye is red.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is black.
- Back is black.
- Legs are brown.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Village Weaver feeds on the ground, on the wing and in foliage mainly
Invertebrates
Fruits
Seeds
Nectar
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Village Weaver takes on more than a single mate (it is bigamous).
The nesting habit of Village Weaver is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 5
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Village Weaver are: woodlands and grasslands . The Village Weaver is also at home in wetland and riverine areas.
You will normally see the Village Weaver in flocks.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Ihobo-hobo
Zulu ... iHlokohloko
Afrikaans ...Bontrugwewer
German ... Textor, Dorfweber
Portuguese ... Tecelo-malhado
French ... Tisserin gendarme
Dutch ... Grote Textorwever
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 811
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
