🐾 Maybe the reason I love animals so much, is because the only time they have broken my heart is when theirs has stopped beating.
Showing posts with label weaver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weaver. Show all posts

Saturday 15 December 2018

Spotted in my garden

A few things spotted in my garden in the months just before the sale of our smallholding.

 AfricanSkink

Black Headed Heron 

Black Headed Heron taking flight

Red Toad (Schismaderma carens) at my wildlife pond (Rooiskurwepadda)

Speckled Pigeon (RockDove)

White Browed Sparrow Weaver

A fitting farewell to my Gauteng garden, which I am sorely missing, but new explorations are beckoning here in KwaZulu Natal (South Africa).

Tuesday 4 August 2015

Southern masked-weaver - Ploceus velatus


This time of the year (winter) it is very difficult to distinguish between who is male and who is female with these abundant Southern Masked Weavers in my garden. In summer the male's bright yellow and black plumage is quite unmistakable, but now only their demeanour can give me a clue as to who's who.


The upright stance of these two birds clearly indicates they are males. Just moments before, another male tried to join the group at the feeding station and after a short scuffle, these two made it quite clear that he is not welcome!


Above is a Black-throated Canary (Crithagra atrogularis) having a hard time finding space on the bird feeder. These sometimes inconspicuous canaries have a wonderful "tweet-sweet" call which always draws me out to the garden to see if I can get a pic, but they are very skittish.

A group discussion about what's available for breakfast!

Now, is that edible or not...?

 A female (I presume!) Southern Masked Weaver inspecting what's on offer.


These weavers occur across southern Africa even in arid areas, extending into Angola, Zambia and Malawi. It generally favours semi-arid scrub, open Savannah, woodland edges, riverine thicket, farmland with scattered trees, alien tree plantations and gardens.

These birds are greatly preyed upon by the Ovambo sparrowhawk, Little sparrowhawk, Peregrine falcon and Lanner falcon. The eggs and chicks are in danger from the Boomslang, Common fiscal shrike, African grey hornbill and Vervet monkeys. Yet these gregarious birds continue to thrive and their conservation status is LC (least concern).

It mainly eats seeds, fruit (yet I've never seen them show any interest in the fruit I put out, maybe they prefer only certain berries), insects and nectar, doing most of its foraging in small flocks, gleaning prey from leaves and branches, taking seeds from the ground and grass stems. They love Cosmos flower seeds and are also partial to seeds of elms. Recorded fruits are from
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  • Rhus pyroides (Common currant)
  • Prunus (Satsuma plum)
  • Viscum rotundifolium (mistletoe)
  • Ehretia rigida (Puzzle-bush)
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They also eat the flower parts of Prunus (peaches and apricots), Rhigozum trichotomum (Driedoring) and Tagetes erecta (African marigold). They love the nectar from
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  • Aloe marlothii (Mountain aloe)
  • Tecoma capensis (Cape honeysuckle)
  • Schotia brachypetala (Weeping boer-bean)
  • Eucalyptus sideroxylon (Red ironbark)
  • Hibiscus rose-sinensis (hibiscus)
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They love insects such as Coleoptera (beetles and their larvae), termites, Ephemeroptera (mayflies) and caterpillars (larval stage of Lepidoptera). They are also partial to human food like bread and porridge.

However, distinguishing between the sexes can be made as follows : The adult male in breeding plumage has a black face, throat and beak, red eye, bright yellow head and underparts, and a plain yellowish-green back. The female has a pinkish-brown bill, brown or red-brown eye and is dull greenish-yellow, streaked darker on the upper back. The throat is yellowish, fading to off-white on the belly. The non-breeding male resembles the female but retains the red eye. The juvenile of this species is like the female.

These birds are polygynous, as males may mate with up to about 12 females in a single breeding season, living in colonies with 1-9 males in total, while each female may often rear multiple broods per breeding season. It is much less aggressive in comparison to most other weavers, although it viciously attacks Diederick cuckoos if they enter its territory. 

Now, in winter, the nests are all empty and abandoned.

The nest  is built solely by the male, consisting of a kidney-shaped structure with a large entrance on the bottom, made of woven grass, palm leaves or reeds with a ceiling of leaves, such as Acacia and Eucalyptus. If the female accepts the nest she lines the interior with leaves, grass inflorescences and feathers.

Egg-laying season is from July-March, peaking from September-February. She lays 1-6, usually 2-4 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about 12-14 days. The chicks are fed by the female only on a diet of soft insect larvae and grasshoppers, leaving the nest after about 16-17 days.
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Every summer I stand watching the African Masked Weavers building their nests in my garden and it’s a hive of activity! Usually there are at least ten of them, with great squabbling going on in between building sessions. This guy seems to be saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know!” I stand amazed at the symmetry and perfection of their work.

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Thursday 25 December 2014

Saturday 18 October 2014

Make friends with the birds


People who have not made friends with the birds do not know how much they miss.
- John Burroughs - "Birds and Poets"

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Saturday 26 July 2014

The Starling and the Weaver


Yesterday afternoon, while sitting on the patio with a cup of coffee, I saw a bright glint of blue through some plants. I had my camera with me as I had been taking photographs earlier on. I focused on the flash of blue through the plants and to my delight saw this Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis nitens) and a Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) at one of my bird baths. The Starling seemed to be aware of me, but the Weaver was not perturbed by me or the Starling, hopping into the water and splashing water all over the Starling, who looked like he was also going to hop in, but never got around to it.

The Weaver spent a couple of minutes splashing around before taking off into the trees and settling down to preen himself. The Starling took a couple of drinks of water and also disappeared into the trees, sure that I was spying on him!



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Thursday 22 May 2014

I can't find the sugar, Hon!

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

A female African masked-weaver (Ploceus velatus) inspecting a nest to see if it suits her requirements. More often than not, the female will reject the nest and look elsewhere, sending the males into a frenzy of building two or three nests at the same time, sometimes as many as six!

This female was quite impressed with the housing and shortly after her inspection, she flew to the ground, returning with a feather and disappeared inside. the male was ecstatic! He did a little dance on the branch above her, and then joined her inside. How I wish I could have seen what was going on in there!

But the nesting season is all over now, the males have all lost their breeding colours and the garden is strangely quiet with just the odd chirps.

The Southern Masked-Weaver or African Masked-Weaver is a native 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 under-parts, 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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Thursday 27 March 2014

White-browed Sparrow Weaver (Plocepasser mahali)


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

While working in the garden, I was absolutely thrilled to see a pair of White-browed Sparrow Weavers (Plocepasser mahali – Koringvoël in Afrikaans) visiting one of my bird feeders. These large, plump, short-tailed weavers are not shy at all and don’t fly off easily, even when walking quite close past them. Their boldness is utterly charming and besides a harsh ‘chik-chik’ call which they use to let one another know they’re still around, they have a beautiful, loud, liquid ‘cheeoop-preeoo-chop’ whistle which I haven’t been able to figure out yet.

Pic from Biodiversity Explorer - I've got no pics of the Hosue Sparrow, these little brown jobbies are really hyperactive and I've just not been able to get a good capture!

This Weaver is often confused with the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), but lacks the black mask surrounding the eye and black throat typical of the House Sparrow.


The White-browed Sparrow-Weaver is found in greatest numbers in north-central southern Africa, so seeing them in my garden has been the highlight of the season and I’m hoping they will either move in or at least become regular visitors.


Found throughout central and north-central Southern Africa, it mainly eats insects, seeds, fruit and fleshy leaves, doing most of its foraging in flocks of 4-10 birds (sometimes along with other species), plucking food items from the ground and will even visit bird-feeders.


These birds are monogamous and colonial cooperative breeders, living in groups within which each bird has their own nest. However there can only be one active breeding pair per group who are usually the largest in size, remaining dominant until their death, at which point another pair steps up to the plate. The group is highly territorial, vigorously defending their 50 meter long foraging territory, often chasing intruders out of the territory.


The nest is built by both breeders in about 5-30 days but maintained throughout the year, consisting of an untidy, retort-shaped structure made of dry grass, with two entrances one of which is closed by the breeding pair. It is typically wedged into the branches of a thorny tree, but it may also use telephone wires, power lines and fences.








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Tuesday 18 March 2014

♪ ♪ ♪ ♫♫♫♫ Oh, what a beautiful morning!

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

An African Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) proclaiming his territory, singing to everybody that he has cleared the leaves off these branches for HIS nest. This is HIS spot. Shortly after taking the pick, he flew off in the direction of my bathroom court-yard garden, quickly returning with a long sliver of the Windmill Palm’s leaf and he started construction of his nest.

It wasn’t long before he had the foundations of a brand new home and some ladies were sitting in the sidelines, keeping a keen eye on him. Once the nest is complete, a female will inspect it and if she doesn’t like it, she’ll start tearing it apart, letting him know no uncertain terms that it’s not up to standard! However, should she accept the nest, she will start carrying in feathers, lining it for her eggs.

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Saturday 22 February 2014

Now, where are all the ladies?

A male African masked-weaver (Ploceus velatus) looking around to see if there are any takers for a nest (one of many!) he’s just completed.

These lovely colourful little birds are so prolific in our gardens that we sometimes tend to over-look them. I’ve tried to count the Weavers nesting in my garden but, apart from counting the nests, of which there are sixteen, it’s impossible to keep track of these little busy-bodies! They provide me hours of pleasure, watching them building their nests and their constant squabbling and other antics makes me feel like I'm in primary school with dozens of uncontrolled children!

They are prolific breeders, normally two babies to a nest, two or three times in a season, and with a dozen or more nests in my garden, it's inevitable that there is some tragedy. This summer alone I have picked up six babies that have fallen out of the nest. Usually the injuries sustained just from the fall takes its toll and lying exposed to the elements and the heat for an extended period of time before I happen to find them also contributes to the fatalities. Add to that the impossibility of getting them back into the nest, even if I knew which one they fell out of, makes it impossible to really save any of them.

They have to be prolific breeders as they face many dangers. Heavy winds battering the nests, egg-eating snakes and nest-raiders like the Mynahs cuts heavily into the population.

Also known as the Southern Masked Weaver, it occurs across southern Africa, even in arid areas, extending into Angola, Zambia and Malawi. It generally favours semi-arid scrub, open savannah, woodland edges, riverine thicket, farmland with scattered trees, alien tree plantations and especially gardens. It mainly eats seeds, fruit, insects and nectar, doing most of its foraging in small flocks, gleaning prey from leaves and branches, taking seeds from the ground and grass stems.

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Friday 14 February 2014

Masked Weaver's nest-building skills


Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Location : In my garden. Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa)

Since the beginning of summer I've been watching the Southern Masked Weavers (Ploceus velatus) busy building their nests in my garden and it’s been a hive of activity! There were at least ten of them with nests in various stages of construction, with great squabbling going on in between building sessions. This guy seems to be saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know!” I stand amazed at the symmetry and perfection of their work.

Unfortunately they choose the very top of the trees, so a closer shot was not possible.

Swartkeelgeelvink [Afrikaans]

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Tuesday 11 February 2014

I think I'll leave a window on this side...

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

A male African masked-weaver (Ploceus velatus) in the process of building his nest to attract a female. It was thrilling to watch as he flew to and from the nest, carrying weaving material, inspecting and adjusting with every visit. And in between he would hang from the nest, fluttering his wings to attract the attention of the ladies.

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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Saturday 1 February 2014

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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Friday 24 February 2012

If you listen...

... Not to the pages or preachers
But to the smallest bird
Singing on a branch
In your heart,
You will hear a great song
Moving across a wide ocean
Whose water is the music
Connecting all the islands
Of the universe together,
And touching all
You will feel it
Touching you
Around you
Embracing you
With light.
— John Squadra

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A Weaver in my garden, eyeing out the mincemeat on the bird feeder - another favourite is Suet, which they can't seem to get enough of...

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Monday 31 January 2011

Safe and Snug


Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do.
Their young ones are hungry,
Their nests are so bare;
All it takes is tuppence from you."
- From "Feed The Birds", Mary Poppins

Let the farmer remember that every bird destroyed, and every nest robbed, is equivalent to a definite increase in insects with which he already has to struggle.  He will soon appreciate the fact that he has a personal interest, and a strong one, in the preservation of birds.

A Weaver's nest in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) after a rain storm this morning.

Camera : Kodak EasyShare C195

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