Weavers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Weavers |
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| A male village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi), building his nest | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Superfamily: | Passeroidea |
| Family: | Ploceidae Sundevall, 1836 |
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Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called weavers, weaverbirds, weaver finches and bishops. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifications, Ploceidae is a clade, which excludes some birds that have historically been placed in the family, such as some of the sparrows, but which includes the monotypic subfamily Amblyospizinae. The family is believed to have originated in the mid-Miocene. All birds of the Ploceidae are native to the Old World, most in Africa south of the Sahara, though a few live in tropical areas of Asia. A few species have been introduced outside their native range.
Contents
Taxonomy and systematics
The family Ploceidae was introduced (as Ploceïdes) by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1836. These species are not closely related to the sparrows (Passeridae) nor to the Emberizidae, according to Luis Allende and colleagues. The family is divided into the buffalo, sparrow, typical, and widow weavers. Weavers get their name because of their elaborately woven nests.
Genera
The following genera are currently classified within the family Ploceidae. For more detail, see list of Ploceidae species.
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Bubalornis A. Smith, 1836 |
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Dinemellia Reichenbach, 1863 |
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Plocepasser A. Smith, 1836 |
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Histurgops Reichenow, 1887 |
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Pseudonigrita Reichenow, 1903 |
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Philetairus A. Smith, 1837 |
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Sporopipes Cabanis, 1847 |
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Amblyospiza Carl Jakob Sundevall, 1850 |
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Ploceus Cuvier, 1816 |
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Malimbus Vieillot, 1805 |
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Quelea L. Reichenbach, 1850 |
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Anaplectes L. Reichenbach, 1863 |
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Foudia L. Reichenbach, 1850 |
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| Brachycope Reichenow, 1900 |
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Euplectes Swainson, 1829 |
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Description
The males of many species in this family are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black. Some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills.
Distribution and habitat
The weaverbird colonies may be found close to bodies of water.
Behaviour and ecology
Although weavers are named for their elaborately woven nests, some are notable for their selective parasitic nesting habits instead. 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 sociable weavers of Africa build apartment-house nests, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. The sparrow weavers live in family units that employ cooperative breeding. Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.
Many weaver species are gregarious and 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.
Relationship to humans
They sometimes cause crop damage, notably the red-billed quelea, reputed to be the world's most numerous bird.
Gallery
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A nest in the early stages of construction
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Adult Sporopipes at its spherical grass nest, placed in a shrub
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Plocepasser nest in Namibia, for year-round occupation.
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Communal Philetairus nests in central Namibia
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Pseudonigrita nest in Kenya, with entrance below
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Black-breasted weaver nest suspended from grass, India
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A baya weaver on his unfinished nest, northern India
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Nests of a baya weaver colony suspended from a palm tree, India
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Male Quelea at nest concealed in thorny Senegalia shrub
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Red bishop constructing a nest in reeds, South Africa
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Nests of a colony of Sakalava weavers, Madagascar
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Spherical village weaver nests suspended from a palm tree, West Africa
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A southern masked weaver building his nest, Namibia
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Hanging nest, Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 2019.
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See also
In Spanish: Ploceidae para niños
