Black-bellied weavers
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Black-bellied weaver ( Ploceus melanogaster ), male |
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| Ploceus melanogaster | ||||||||||||
| Shelley , 1887 |
The black-bellied weaver ( Ploceus melanogaster ) belongs within the family of weaver birds (Ploceidae) to the genus of the bunting weaver ( Ploceus ).
The Latin species addition comes from ancient Greek μέλας melas , German 'black' and ancient Greek γαστήρ gaster , German 'belly' .
The bird is found in Central Africa in Bioko , Cameroon , Kenya , Rwanda and Uganda .
The distribution area includes mountain forests from 550 to 2450 m in Cameroon, otherwise from 1500 to 3000 m altitude.
features
The species is 14 cm tall and weighs between 20 and 28 g. The species, unlike many other weaver birds, has a golden-yellow head including forehead, cheeks and ear covers in males, and in females additionally neck and throat. The reins are black, the iris is reddish, and the bill is anthracite. The rest of the plumage is black. Young birds are pale blackish-olive in color with a dirty green-yellowish mask.
Geographic variation
The following subspecies are recognized:
- P. m. melanogaster Shelley , 1887, nominate form - English Western Black-billed Weaver - Southeast Nigeria, Southwest Cameroon and Bioko
- P. m. stephanophorus ( Sharpe , 1891) - English Eastern Black-billed Weaver - South Sudan , east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , bordering western Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, also eastern Uganda and bordering Kenya
voice
The singing of the male is described as clear-sounding tones with a drawn out snoring sound "da du da du dzirr" or as a rapid series of falling tones ending in a dry, toneless rattle. The call is more reminiscent of nectar birds than weaver birds. The contact call is a harsh "zhink-zhink-zhink".
Way of life
The diet consists mainly of insects including ants , winged termites , beetles and cicadas .
The breeding season is in December in Nigeria and Cameroon, in January in Bioko, between November and March and in August in Sudan, between December and January, October and November and May and June in Uganda, between January and April and September in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Black-bellied weavers are monogamous .
Hazardous situation
The stock is not considered to be at risk ( least concern ).
literature
- GE Shelley: Ploceus melanogaster. In: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1887, p. 126 (Biodiversity Library)
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Ploceus melanogaster in the Internet Bird Collection
- Weaver Watch
Individual evidence
- ↑ Schwarzbauchweber , in Avibase - The World Bird Database
- ↑ a b c d e Handbook of the Birds of the World
- ^ A b c T. Stevenson, J. Fanshawe: Birds of East Africa. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. Princeton University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-691-12665-8 .
- ↑ Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers
- ↑ Redlist