Village Weaver

The Village Weaver, also called the Spotted-backed Weaver, is a common and highly social weaverbird found across much of sub-Saharan Africa, often nesting conspicuously around villages, farms, and towns.

Appearance

• Breeding male: black hood covering the head and throat, bright yellow body, chestnut-tinged nape in some populations, and a back mottled with black spots on yellow-green
• Red or orange-red eyes and a heavy black bill
• Non-breeding male and female: duller olive-yellow with a streaked back and paler eyes, lacking the black hood

Plumage varies somewhat across its wide range, with several recognized subspecies differing slightly in the extent of the black hood and back markings.

Key field marks

• Breeding male: black hood, mottled black-and-yellow (spotted) back, and red eye
• Heavier bill and more extensive black on the head compared with masked weavers

Similar species

• Southern Masked Weaver has a plain, unspotted yellow-green back and a mask confined mostly to the face rather than a full black hood.
• Other Ploceus weavers can be confusingly similar; the combination of a spotted back and full black hood is the most reliable feature for Village Weaver.
• Females and non-breeding males are best separated from other weavers by range, back streaking pattern, and eye color.

Range

Widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Gambia east to Ethiopia and Kenya, and south through Central Africa to South Africa; also introduced to parts of the Caribbean, Indian Ocean islands, and elsewhere.

Habitat

Highly adaptable, using savanna, forest edges, wetlands, farmland, and especially urban and suburban gardens where trees and water are available.

Movements

Mostly resident, with some local movements linked to food availability and rainfall.

Behavior

Highly social and colonial, nesting in noisy colonies that can number in the dozens to hundreds of nests, often in a single large tree; males are polygynous, mating with multiple females across the colony.

Voice

A harsh, chattering, wheezy song mixed with buzzes and swizzles, constantly given by displaying males, creating a loud chorus at active colonies.

Feeding

Feeds on the ground and in vegetation, taking seeds, grain, and insects, and readily exploits cultivated and urban food sources.

Nesting

Males weave tightly constructed, kidney- or oval-shaped nests with a short entrance tunnel from strips of grass and leaves, often stripping trees of leaves near the colony; nests are frequently built over water to deter predators, and females select a nest before breeding.