| Sparrow-weaver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| White-browed sparrow-weaver, Plocepasser mahali | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ploceidae |
| Genus: | Plocepasser A. Smith, 1836 |
| Type species | |
| Plocepasser mahali [1] A. Smith, 1836 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser) are a genus of birds in the family Ploceidae (weavers), but some taxonomic authorities place them in the family Passeridae (Old World sparrows).
The genus Plocepasser contains the following species: [2]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Plocepasser mahali | White-browed sparrow-weaver | northern South Africa, its range includes Botswana, northern and central Namibia, and western Zimbabwe |
 | Plocepasser superciliosus | Chestnut-crowned sparrow-weaver | Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda. |
 | Plocepasser donaldsoni | Donaldson Smith's sparrow-weaver | Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. |
 | Plocepasser rufoscapulatus | Chestnut-backed sparrow-weaver | Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, and Zambia. |
Based on recent DNA-analysis (which only included P. mahali), the genus Plocepasser belongs to the group of sparrow weavers (subfamily Plocepasserinae), and is most related to the clade that consists of Philetairus socius and the genus Pseudonigrita . This clade is sister to the most basic genus of the subfamily, Sporopipes . [3] Provided that genera are correct clades, the following tree expresses current insights.
| family Ploceidae |
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Old World sparrows are a group of small passerine birds forming the family Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, a name also used for a particular genus of the family, Passer. They are distinct from both the New World sparrows, in the family Passerellidae, and from a few other birds sharing their name, such as the Java sparrow of the family Estrildidae. Many species nest on buildings and the house and Eurasian tree sparrows, in particular, inhabit cities in large numbers. They are primarily seed-eaters, though they also consume small insects. Some species scavenge for food around cities and, like pigeons or gulls, will eat small quantities of a diversity of items.
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. 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.
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.
Ploceus is a genus of birds in the weaver family, Ploceidae. They are native to the Indomalayan and Afrotropical realms.
The white-browed sparrow-weaver is a predominantly brown, sparrow-sized bird found throughout central and north-central southern Africa. It is found in groups of two to eleven individuals consisting of one breeding pair and other non-reproductive individuals.
Fodies are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Foudia in the weaver family Ploceidae.
Bubalornis is a genus of bird in the family Ploceidae. Established by Andrew Smith in 1836, it contains the following species:
Malimbus is a genus of birds in the family Ploceidae. It was erected by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1805.
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.
Donaldson Smith's sparrow-weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in Africa from southern Ethiopia to central Kenya and southern Somalia. It was named in honor of the 19th-century American explorer Arthur Donaldson Smith.
The chestnut-backed sparrow-weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.
The chestnut-crowned sparrow-weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Pseudonigrita is a genus of sparrow-like birds in the weaverbird family.
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.
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.
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.
Media related to Plocepasser at Wikimedia Commons
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