weaver

weaver, any of a number of small finchlike birds of the Old World, or any of several related birds that are noted for their nest-building techniques using grass stems and other plant fibres. They are particularly well-known for their roofed nests, which in some African species form complex, hanging woven chambers. Many species of weavers are highly gregarious.

In the true weaver family, Ploceidae (order Passeriformes), are the 57 species of the genus Ploceus, which are often divided under group names, such as masked weavers and golden weavers. All are small insectivores that breed colonially; most inhabit hot, dry country. The breeding male ploceine typically has bright yellow markings, is polygynous, and makes a nest that resembles an upside-down flask, with a bottom entrance, which may be a sort of tube. He attracts females by hanging upside down from the nest while calling and fluttering his wings. A familiar ploceine species in Africa is the village weaver (Ploceus, formerly Textor, cucullatus). The baya weaver (P. philippinus) is abundant from Pakistan to Sumatra.

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The giant communal nest of the social weavers (Philetairus socius) of southwestern Africa often reaches a height of 10 feet (3 metres); the nest is usually situated in a large acacia tree and may contain more than 100 separate nest chambers, with openings at the nest’s bottom. Cassin’s weaver (Malimbus cassini) of the lowland rain forests of central Africa builds a hanging nest of long palm-leaf strips that has a wide entrance extending down more than two feet. The red-billed weaver, or quelea (Quelea quelea), of the African savannas can sometimes become an agricultural pest; it has been reported nesting in colonies covering several square miles of trees and harbouring millions of birds. Bishop birds (Euplectes) weave nests with a side entrance, generally in wet grassy areas. (See bishop.) Whydahs (Vidua) are social parasites that lay their eggs in the nests of other species of weavers, which then raise the whydahs’ young.

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Other birds of the family Ploceidae, subfamily Passerinae, are called social weaver. Birds called the buffalo weaver comprise another ploceid subfamily, Bubalornithinae. For the hooded weaver, an estrildid, see mannikin.