Mask weaver

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Mask weaver
Masked weaver bird.jpg

Masked Weaver ( Ploceus velatus )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Weaver birds (Ploceidae)
Subfamily : Ploceinae
Genre : Ploceus
Type : Mask weaver
Scientific name
Ploceus velatus
Vieillot , 1819

The Masked Weaver ( Ploceus velatus ) is a bird art from the family of weaver birds (Ploceidae). It is named after the mask-like dark color of the face and the nest building typical of many species of weaver birds.

features

The mask weaver becomes 11 to 15 centimeters long, has a short, conical beak and pinkish-brown claws. The breeding dress of the male shows a black face, neck and beak, a light yellow chest and head, red eyes and a slightly greenish back. The female has a pinkish-brown beak, brown or reddish brown eyes, a pale yellow-green plumage and a darker mark on the back. The male's resting dress has the characteristics of the female, but with red eyes.

Occurrence

The distribution area of ​​the mask weaver is southern Africa. There it occurs in the west, south and central Angola , in Zambia , Malawi , Mozambique except in the northeast and south to South Africa . It is the most common weaver in the arid regions of western and central South Africa. Its habitat is wide-ranging. It is found in bushland, savannah, grasslands, inland wetlands, semi-deserts, and in urban parks and gardens.

nutrition

The mask weaver usually goes foraging for food individually or in small groups. But it can also be found in larger groups together with other grain eaters. It feeds on seeds, grains, fruits, nectar and insects.

Reproduction

Masked weaver bird's nest

The mask weaver is a colony breeder and a very sociable bird. The main breeding season is between September and January. Males usually have several female partners and build up to 25 nests per year. As is typical for weavers, their nests are made of reed, grass or other plant fibers. They are usually erected in trees near the water because fresh blades of grass are easier to find near them. Before the male begins to build, it removes all leaves from the branch so that snakes cannot approach the nest unnoticed. Another protection against predators is the creation of the entrance in the lower part of the nest. The mask weaver needs about 5 days to build a nest. In order to successfully induce a female to mate, the male must build up to 5 nests. The mask weaver is the preferred host bird of the gold cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius).

Systematics

Occasionally the mask weaver is assigned to the yolk weaver , the katanga weaver , the Ruwet weaver and the Reichard weaver , which are common in North and East Africa.

Subspecies

There are three known subspecies:

literature

  • Christopher M. Perrins (Ed.): The FSVO encyclopedia birds of the world. Translated from the English by Einhard Bezzel. BLV, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 2004, ISBN 978-3-405-16682-3 (Title of the original English edition: The New Encyclopedia Of Birds. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2003).
  • Bernhard Grzimek: Grzimeks Tierleben Vögel 3rd Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom in 13 volumes. Weltbildverlag. ISBN 3-8289-1603-1
  • Fernando Frade Viegas da Costa, René Paulin Jacobé de Naurois: Une nouvelle sous-espèce de tisserin: Ploceus velatus peixotoi . In: Garcia de Orta . tape 12 , 1964, pp. 621-626 .
  • Jean Louis Cabanis : Museum Heineanum Directory of the ornithological collection of the Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine on Gut St. Burchard before Halberstadt, I. Part, the songbirds . R. Frantz, Halberstadt 1851 ( online [accessed January 18, 2016]).
  • Louis Pierre Vieillot: Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle, appliquée aux arts, à l'agriculture, à l'économie rurale et domestique, à la médecine, etc. Par une société de naturalistes et d'agriculteurs . tape 34 . Deterville, Paris 1819 ( online [accessed January 18, 2016]).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Charles G. Sibley, Burt L. Monroe junior: Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World . Yale University Press, New Haven / London 1990, ISBN 0-300-04969-2 , pp. 683 .
  2. ↑ Bernhard Grzimek: "Grzimeks Tierleben Vögel 3, encyclopedia of the animal kingdom in 13 volumes" Weltbildverlag. ISBN 3-8289-1603-1 page: 425, paragraph 1
  3. ↑ Christopher M. Perrins (ed.): The BLV encyclopedia birds of the world. BLV, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 2004, ISBN 978-3-405-16682-3 , p. 596 (Der Arbeitsame Webervogel / Photo Story).
  4. ↑ Mask weaver ( Ploceus velatus ) Vieillot, 1819 at Avibase, accessed on August 10, 2009
  5. ^ IOC World Bird List Old World sparrows, snowfinches & weavers
  6. ↑ Louis Pierre Vieillot, p. 132.
  7. ^ Jean Louis Cabanis, p. 182.
  8. ↑ Fernando Frade Viegas da Costa et al. a., p. 623.

Web links

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