Southern Masked-Weaver ( Ploceus velatus, family: Ploceidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Masked Weaver

southern masked weaver kruger national park birds The Southern Masked-Weaver (Latin name Ploceus velatus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 814 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 1016 also a picture of the Southern Masked-Weaver on page 1024. The Southern Masked-Weaver belongs to the family of birds classified as Ploceidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Southern Masked-Weaver is also known by these other names: Vitelline Masked-Weaver, African Masked-Weaver, Greater Masked-Weaver, Namaqua Masked-Weaver, Half-masked Weaver, Black-fronted Weaver, Rppell's Weaver.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Southern Masked-Weaver was called the Masked 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 Southern Masked-Weaver is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

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

The Southern Masked-Weaver.

Southern Masked 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 Southern Masked-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 Southern Masked-Weaver is about 15 cms and its weight is about 37 gms

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

  • Head is yellow.
  • Eye is orange.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is black.
  • Back is green, yellow.
  • Legs are grey.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Southern Masked-Weaver feeds on the ground and in foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Nectar

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

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

The nesting habit of Southern Masked-Weaver is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub or on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are blue in colour and number between 1 to 6

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Southern Masked-Weaver are: woodlands and grasslands

You can expect to see Southern Masked-Weaver in flocks, or pairs or as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ihobo-hobo

Zulu ... iHlokohloko

Afrikaans ...Swartkeelgeelvink

German ... Maskenweber, Schwarzstirnweber

Portuguese ... Tecelo-de-mscara

French ... Tisserin tte rousse

Dutch ... Maskerwever

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

Robert's 7th edition number ... 814

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