Ploceidae

Weaver
Slender-billed Weaver, Ploceus pelzelni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Suborder:	Passeri
Family:	Ploceidae Sundevall, 1836
Genera
c.16, see text

Ploceus philippinus- Baya Weaver- Male in Hyderabad, India.

Weaver birds and nests in western India.

Rufous-tailed weaver. Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.

Red-headed Malimbe, Uganda.

Male Speke's Weaver in the Serengeti, Tanzania

Village Weaver colony in The Gambia. The nests are the spherical suspended objects

Weaver bird in Northern India

The Ploceidae, or weavers, are small passerine birds related to the finches.

These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which are from Sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical Asia. A few species have been introduced outside their native range. The weaver group is divided into the buffalo, sparrow, typical, and widow weavers. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black, some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season.

Weaver birds, also known as weaver finches, get their name because of their elaborately woven nests (the most elaborate of any birds'), though some are notable for their selective parasitic nesting habits. 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 of Africa build apartment-house nests, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.

Many (but not all) species of weavers are gregarious birds that breed colonially. 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. The weaver bird colonies may be found close to water bodies. They sometimes cause crop damage, notably the Red-billed Quelea, reputed to be the world's most numerous bird.^{[citation needed]}

Species list

• Genus Bubalornis
  • White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Bubalornis albirostris
  • Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, Bubalornis niger

• Genus Dinemellia
  • White-headed Buffalo Weaver, Dinemellia dinemelli

• Genus Sporopipes
  • Speckle-fronted Weaver, Sporopipes frontalis
  • Scaly-feathered Weaver, Sporopipes squamifrons

• Genus Plocepasser
  • White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser mahali
  • Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser superciliosus
  • Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser rufoscapulatus
  • Donaldson Smith's Sparrow-Weaver, Plocepasser donaldsoni

• Genus Histurgops
  • Rufous-tailed Weaver, Histurgops ruficauda

• Genus Pseudonigrita
  • Grey-capped Social Weaver, Pseudonigrita arnaudi
  • Black-capped Social Weaver, Pseudonigrita cabanisi

• Genus Philetairus
  • Sociable Weaver, Philetairus socius

• Genus Ploceus (c.60 species)

• Genus Pachyphantes
  • Compact Weaver, Pachyphantes superciliosus

• Genus Malimbus
  • Red-crowned Malimbe, Malimbus coronatus
  • Cassin's Malimbe, Malimbus cassini
  • Gola Malimbe, Malimbus ballmanni
  • Rachel's Malimbe, Malimbus racheliae
  • Red-vented Malimbe, Malimbus scutatus
  • Ibadan Malimbe, Malimbus ibadanensis
  • Red-bellied Malimbe, Malimbus erythrogaster
  • Blue-billed Malimbe, Malimbus nitens
  • Crested Malimbe, Malimbus malimbicus
  • Red-headed Malimbe, Malimbus rubricollis

• Genus Anaplectes
  • Red-headed Weaver, Anaplectes rubriceps

• Genus Brachycope
  • Bob-tailed Weaver, Brachycope anomala

• Genus Quelea
  • Cardinal Quelea, Quelea cardinalis
  • Red-headed Quelea, Quelea erythrops
  • Red-billed Quelea, Quelea quelea

• Genus Foudia
  • Red Fody, Foudia madagascariensis
  • Red-headed Fody (or Comoro Fody for if species is split), Foudia eminentissima
    • Aldabra Fody, Foudia (eminentissima) aldabrana
  • Comoros Fody, Foudia eminentissima
  • Forest Fody, Foudia omissa
  • Mauritius Fody, Foudia rubra
  • Seychelles Fody, Foudia sechellarum
  • Rodrigues Fody, Foudia flavicans

• Genus Euplectes
  • Yellow-crowned Bishop, Euplectes afer
  • Fire-fronted Bishop, Euplectes diadematus
  • Black Bishop, Euplectes gierowii
  • Black-winged Red Bishop, Euplectes hordeaceus
  • Northern Red Bishop or Orange Bishop, Euplectes franciscanus
  • Southern Red Bishop or Red Bishop, Euplectes orix
  • Zanzibar Red Bishop, Euplectes nigroventris
  • Golden-backed Bishop, Euplectes aureus
  • Yellow Bishop, Euplectes capensis
  • Fan-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes axillaris
  • Yellow-mantled Widowbird, Euplectes macroura
  • White-winged Widowbird, Euplectes albonotatus
  • Red-collared Widowbird, Euplectes ardens
  • Marsh Widowbird, Euplectes hartlaubi
  • Montane Widowbird, Euplectes psammacromius
  • Long-tailed Widowbird, Euplectes progne
  • Jackson's Widowbird, Euplectes jacksoni

• Genus Anomalospiza
  • Cuckoo Finch or Parasitic Weaver, Anomalospiza imberbis - probably belongs in Viduidae

• Genus Amblyospiza
  • Thick-billed Weaver, Amblyospiza albifrons

References

• Weavers (Ploceidae) information, including 67 species with videos and 77 with photographs at the Internet Bird Collection