Confused Weaver

It seems this Weaver is wondering, “Now why would she not like this one…?”

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Taken in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)

A male African masked-weaver (Ploceus velatus) fluttering at his nest trying to attract the attention of a female.

The male builds a nest for a female. If the female does not like the nest, it might not be green enough even though it is newly built, he will tear it down and start over. If she does like the nest, she will line it with grass and feathers, and start raising a family. The male will then try to build a new nest for another female.

The Southern Masked-Weaver or African Masked-Weaver is an inhabitant of sub-Saharan Africa with a short, conical bill. Adult males in breeding plumage have a black face and throat, red eyes, a bright yellow head and underparts, and yellowish-green upper-parts, whereas females (and non-breeding males) are dull greenish yellow, streaked darker on the upper back, and the throat is yellowish, becoming off-white on the belly, with duller irides. It nests in colonies, like other weavers, and the nests, again like those of other weavers, are woven of reeds, palms or grasses. The Southern Masked-Weaver appears to have established itself locally in parts of northern Venezuela.

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