White-billed buffalo weaver

Last updated

White-billed buffalo weaver
White-billed Buffalo-Weaver - Baringo - Kenya NH8O0246 (22432169758).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae
Genus: Bubalornis
Species:
B. albirostris
Binomial name
Bubalornis albirostris
(Vieillot, 1817)

The white-billed buffalo weaver (Bubalornis albirostris) is a resident breeding bird species in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

This common weaver occurs in open country, especially cultivation and scrub. It is a communal breeder, building massive untidy stick nests in tree colonies, each of which may have several spherical woven nests within. Two to four eggs are laid.

The white-billed buffalo weaver is large and stocky, commonly measuring 23 to 24 centimeters[ citation needed ]. The adult is mainly black with white flecking on the back and wings. The conical bill is very thick, and appears more so because it is surmounted by a white frontal shield. The bill is white in breeding males.

The adult female and non-breeding male are similar, but the bill is black. Young birds are dark brown in plumage.

The white-billed buffalo weaver is a gregarious species which feeds on grain and insects. This is a noisy bird, especially in colonies, with a range of cackles and squeaks.

Illustration by Jean-Gabriel Pretre Bubalornis albirostris albirostris 1838, fond blanc.jpg
Illustration by Jean-Gabriel Prêtre

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean gull</span> Species of bird

The Mediterranean gull is a small gull. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus Ichthyaetus is from ikhthus, "fish", and aetos, "eagle", and the specific melanocephalus is from melas, "black", and -kephalos "-headed".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ploceidae</span> Family of small passerine birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great white pelican</span> Species of bird

The great white pelican also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or simply white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Village weaver</span> Species of bird in the Ploceidae family

The village weaver , also known as the spotted-backed weaver or black-headed weaver, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae found in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been introduced to Portugal and Venezuela as well as to the islands of Hispaniola, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Mauritius and Réunion.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut sparrow</span> Species of bird

The chestnut sparrow is a species of passerine bird in the sparrow family Passeridae. It is the smallest member of the sparrow family, at about 11 cm (4.3 in) long. The breeding male has deep chestnut plumage and the female and juvenile are coloured a duller grey with some chestnut markings. Like its closest relatives in the genus Passer, the Arabian golden sparrow and the Sudan golden sparrow, it is gregarious and found in arid areas. Ranging through the east of Africa from Darfur in Sudan to Tanzania, it is found in dry savanna, papyrus swamps, and near human habitation. Adults and juveniles both feed mostly on grass seeds, and fly in flocks, often with other species of birds, to find food. It nests in trees, building its own domed nests, and also usurping the more elaborate nests of weavers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pygmy falcon</span> Species of bird

The pygmy falcon or African pygmy falcon is a bird of prey native to eastern and southern Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus Polihierax. It is the smallest bird of prey on the African continent.

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

The white-headed buffalo weaver or white-faced buffalo-weaver is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to East Africa. The buffalo part of its name derives from its habit of following the African buffalo, feeding on disturbed insects. Two subspecies are recognized.

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

The Cape weaver is a species of bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae, found in southern Africa.

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

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.

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

Speke's weaver is a familiar East African songbird.

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

The black-breasted weaver, also known as the Bengal weaver or black-throated weaver, is a weaver resident in the northern river plains of the Indian subcontinent. Like the other weavers, the males build an enclosed nest from reeds and mud, and visiting females select a mate at least partially based on the quality of the nest.

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

The southern masked weaver, or African masked weaver, is a resident breeding bird species common throughout southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental pied hornbill</span> Species of bird

The oriental pied hornbill is an Indo-Malayan pied hornbill, a large canopy-dwelling bird belonging to the family Bucerotidae. Two other common names for this species are Sunda pied hornbill (convexus) and Malaysian pied hornbill.

<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-billed buffalo weaver</span> Species of bird

The red-billed buffalo weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa. Its natural habitat is the dry savanna.

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

The baglafecht weaver is a species of weaver bird from the family Ploceidae which is found in eastern and central Africa. There are several disjunct populations with distinguishable plumage patterns. Only some races display a discrete non-breeding plumage.

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

The Asian golden weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, and arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<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.

<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.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Bubalornis albirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22718662A131990066. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22718662A131990066.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.