Spectacled Weaver ( Ploceus ocularis, family: Ploceidae)

spectacled weaver kruger national park birds The Spectacled Weaver (Latin name Ploceus ocularis) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 810 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 1011 also a picture of the Spectacled Weaver on page 1024. The Spectacled Weaver belongs to the family of birds classified as Ploceidae.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Spectacled Weaver was called the

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 Spectacled Weaver is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

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

The Spectacled Weaver.

Spectacled Weaver Kruger ParkIdentification 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 Spectacled 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 Spectacled Weaver is about 15 cms and its weight is about 30 gms

The male and female Spectacled Weaver have the same plumage and colours

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

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Spectacled Weaver feeds on the ground, on the wing and in foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Fruits

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Spectacled Weaver takes on more than a single mate (it is bigamous).

The nesting habit of Spectacled Weaver is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are blue in colour and number between 2 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Spectacled Weaver are: woodlands . The Spectacled Weaver is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You will normally see the Spectacled Weaver in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ikreza

Zulu ... iGelegekle/iGeleja

Afrikaans ...Brilwewer

German ... Brillenweber

Portuguese ... Tecelo-de-lunetas

French ... Tisserin lunettes

Dutch ... Brilwever

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 810

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