Ploceidae

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Weavers
Black-headed weaver (Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi) male nest building.jpg
A male village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi), building his nest
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Passeroidea
Family: Ploceidae
Sundevall, 1836
Genera

See text.

Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called weavers, weaverbirds, weaver finches, or bishops. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifications, the Ploceidae are a clade that 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. [1] 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. [2]

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The family Ploceidae was introduced (as Ploceïdes) by Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1836. [3] [4] Phylogenetic studies have shown that the family is sister to a clade containing the families Viduidae and Estrildidae [5] Their common ancestor lived in the middle Miocene around 18 million years ago. [6]

A 2017 molecular phylogenetic study by Thilina de Silva and collaborators, as well as an expanded study by the same group published in 2019 have indicated that the genus Ploceus as currently defined is polyphyletic. [7] [8] A cladogram based on these results is shown below. [8]

Ploceidae

Amblyospiza – thick-billed weaver

Sporopipes – 2 species (weavers)

Plocepasser – 4 species (sparrow-weavers)

Philetairus – sociable weaver

Pseudonigrita – 2 species (social weavers)

Dinemellia – white-headed buffalo weaver

Bubalornis – 2 species (buffalo weavers)

Euplectes – 18 species (bishops and widowbirds)

Ploceus – 5 species (Asian weavers)

Quelea – 3 species (queleas)

Pachyphantes – compact weaver

Foudia – 8 species (fodies)

Ploceus – 2 species (Sakalava weaver and Nelicourvi weaver)

Ploceus + Malimbus + Anaplectes – 60 + 10 + 2 = 72 species

Genera

The family includes 15 genera with a total of 122 species. [9] For more detail, see list of Ploceidae species.

ImageGenusSpecies
Red-billed Buffalo Weaver.jpg Bubalornis A. Smith, 1836
Dinemellia dinemelli.jpg DinemelliaReichenbach, 1863
Plocepasser mahali -Baringo Lake, Kenya -male-8.jpg Plocepasser A. Smith, 1836
Weaver bird.jpg HisturgopsReichenow, 1887
Black-capped Social-Weaver - Samburu - Kenya S4E5139 (22836895922).jpg Pseudonigrita Reichenow, 1903
Sociable weaver (Philetairus socius).jpg PhiletairusA. Smith, 1837
Speckle-fronted Weaver RWD4.jpg Sporopipes Cabanis, 1847
Amblyospiza albifrons, w, vreet netel-dopvrugte, a, Skeerpoort.jpg AmblyospizaSundevall, 1850
Black-headed weaver (Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi) male.jpg Ploceus Cuvier, 1816
Crested Malimbe - Kakum - Ghana S4E1412 (22229307983).jpg Malimbus Vieillot, 1805
Quelea erythrops -South Africa -building nest-8.jpg Quelea Reichenbach, 1850
Red-headed Weaver male RWD.jpg AnaplectesReichenbach, 1863
Madagascar fody (Foudia madagascariensis).jpg Foudia Reichenbach, 1850
BrachycopeReichenow, 1900
Euplectes progne male South Africa cropped.jpg Euplectes Swainson, 1829

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

Weavers are named for their elaborately woven nests. 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. [10] Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.

Many weaver species are gregarious and breed colonially. [2] 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. [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hirundo</i> Genus of birds

The bird genus Hirundo is a group of passerines in the family Hirundinidae. The genus name is Latin for a swallow. These are the typical swallows, including the widespread barn swallow. Many of this group have blue backs, red on the face and sometimes the rump or nape, and whitish or rufous underparts. With fifteen species this genus is the largest in its family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-necked weaver</span> Species of bird

The black-necked weaver is a resident breeding bird species in much of central Africa from Cameroon in the west to Kenya and southern Somalia in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern red bishop</span> Species of bird

The northern red bishop or orange bishop is a small passerine bird in the family Ploceidae. It is part of the largest genus in the family with over 60 different species. Its sister species is the Southern red bishop. This species is most recognizable by the bright reddish orange with contrasting black plumage displayed by the breeding male. It is most common throughout the northern African continent but has also been introduced to areas in the western hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-billed quelea</span> Small, migratory weaver bird native to Sub-Saharan Africa

The red-billed quelea, also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch, is a small—approximately 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighing 15–26 g (0.53–0.92 oz)—migratory, sparrow-like bird of the weaver family, Ploceidae, native to Sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Quelea</i> Genus of African birds

Quelea is a genus of small passerine birds that belongs to the weaver family Ploceidae, confined to Africa. These are small-sized, sparrow- or finch-like gregarious birds, with bills adapted to eating seeds. Queleas may be nomadic over vast ranges; the red-billed quelea is said to be the most numerous bird species in the world.

<i>Ploceus</i> Genus of birds

Ploceus is a genus of birds in the weaver family, Ploceidae. They are native to the Indomalayan and Afrotropical realms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thick-billed weaver</span> Species of bird

The thick-billed weaver, or grosbeak weaver, is a distinctive and bold species of weaver bird that is native to the Afrotropics. It belongs to the monotypic genus Amblyospiza and subfamily Amblyospizinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-collared widowbird</span> Species of bird

The red-collared widowbird is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. Red-collared widowbirds are found in grasslands and bush clearings in western and southern Africa. They are known for their long tails and brilliant red badges, both of which act as sexual ornaments. They are often associated with other widowbird and bishop species. They are polygynous, where males acquisition of territory is an important determinant in their access to mates. Red-collared widowbirds have a wide range and there is little concern in terms of conservation status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sociable weaver</span> Species of bird

The sociable weaver is a species of bird in the weaver family, endemic to Southern Africa. It is the only species in its genus Philetairus. It is found in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana, but its range is centered within the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The species builds large, compound, community nests, a rarity among birds. These nests are perhaps the most spectacular structure built by any bird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparrow-weaver</span> Genus of birds

The sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser) are a genus of birds in the family Ploceidae (weavers), but some taxonomic authorities place them in the family Passeridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nelicourvi weaver</span> Species of bird

The nelicourvi weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Together with its closest relative, the sakalava weaver, it is sometimes placed in a separate genus Nelicurvius. A slender, sparrow-like bird, it is 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighing 20–28 g (0.71–0.99 oz). Breeding males have a black bill and head, brown eyes, yellow collar, grey belly, chestnut-brown lower tail coverts, olive back, and blackish flight feathers edged greenish. Non-breeding males have mottled grey and green heads. In the breeding female the front of the head is yellow and the back olive green, with a broad yellow eyebrow. It builds solitary, roofed, retort-shaped nests, hanging by a rope from a branch, vine or bamboo stem, in an open space. It primarily feeds on insects, looking on its own or in very small groups, often together with long-billed bernieria. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland and mountain forests. The conservation status of Nelicourvi weaver is least concern according to the IUCN Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sakalava weaver</span> Species of bird

The Sakalava weaver sometimes known as the Sakalava fody is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. The bird is 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighs 20–28 g (0.71–0.99 oz).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compact weaver</span> Species of bird

The compact weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in the African countries of Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-capped social weaver</span> Species of bird

The grey-capped social weaver is a sparrow-like liver-colored bird, with a pale grey crown, a dark grey bill, a whitish eye-ring, horn-colored legs, with some black in the wing and a light terminal band in the tail, that builds roofed nests made of straws, breeds in colonies in thorny Acacia trees, and feeds in groups gathering grass seeds and insects. Male and female have near identical plumage. DNA-analysis confirms it is part of the weaver family. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

<i>Pseudonigrita</i> Genus of birds

Pseudonigrita is a genus of sparrow-like birds in the weaverbird family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-capped social weaver</span> Species of bird

The black-capped social weaver is a sparrow-like species of bird that has been assigned to the weaverbird family. It was originally described by Fisher and Reichenow, and later re-classified by the latter to the genus Pseudonigrita. Adults have a large black cap, ivory-colored bill, red eyes, brown back and wings, blackish-brown tail, white throat and underparts with a black midline, and dark horn-colored legs. It breeds in colonies and roofed nests with an entrance at the bottom in thorny trees such as acacias are constructed by the male from grass stems. It is found in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. It is sometimes kept and bred in captivity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardinal quelea</span> Species of bird

The cardinal quelea is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-headed quelea</span> Species of bird

The red-headed quelea is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-crowned bishop</span> Species of bird

The yellow-crowned bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male adopts a distinctive yellow and black plumage, contrasting with the female's predominantly brown coloration. Four subspecies are recognised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive-naped weaver</span> Species of bird

The olive-naped weaver is a bird species in the family Ploceidae. It is found in West Africa from Senegal and Gambia to Cameroon.

References

  1. De Silva, Thilina N.; Peterson, A. Townsend; Bates, John M.; Fernando, Sumudu W.; Girard, Matthew G. (2017). "Phylogenetic relationships of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae): A first robust phylogeny based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: 21–32. Bibcode:2017MolPE.109...21D. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.013. PMID   28012957. S2CID   205841906.
  2. 1 2 Craig, Adrian J.F.K. (2010). "Family Ploceidae (Weavers)" . In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D.A. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 15: Weavers to New World Warblers. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 73–197. ISBN   978-84-96553-68-2.
  3. Bock, Walter J. (1994). "History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. No. 222. New York: American Museum of Natural History. pp. 157, 260. hdl:2246/830.
  4. Sundevall, Carl Jakob (1836). "Ornithologiskt system". Kongliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar. 23: 43–130 [74].
  5. De Silva TN, Peterson AT, Perktas U (1 July 2019). "An extensive molecular phylogeny of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae) unveils broad nonmonophyly of traditional genera and new relationships". The Auk. 136 (3). doi:10.1093/auk/ukz041.
  6. Oliveros, C.H.; et al. (2019). "Earth history and the passerine superradiation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. 116 (16): 7916–7925. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.7916O. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1813206116 . PMC   6475423 . PMID   30936315.
  7. De Silva, T.N.; Peterson, A.T.; Bates, J.M.; Fernando, S.W.; Girard, M.G. (2017). "Phylogenetic relationships of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae): A first robust phylogeny based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 109: 21–32. Bibcode:2017MolPE.109...21D. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.013. PMID   28012957. S2CID   205841906.
  8. 1 2 De Silva, T.N.; Peterson, A.T.; Perktas, U. (2019). "An extensive molecular phylogeny of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae) unveils broad nonmonophyly of traditional genera and new relationships". The Auk. 136 (ukz041). doi:10.1093/auk/ukz041.
  9. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  10. 1 2 Lewis, Dale M. (3 April 2008). "Cooperative breeding in a population of White-browed Weavers Plocepasser mahali". Ibis. 124 (4): 511–522. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1982.tb03795.x.
  11. Fry, C.H. & Keith, S. (2004) The birds of Africa vol. VII. Christopher Helm, London
  12. BirdLife International (2018). "Quelea quelea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22719128A132125738. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22719128A132125738.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.

Further reading