The black-necked weaver (Ploceus nigricollis) is a resident breeding bird species in much of central Africa from Cameroon in the west to Kenya and southern Somalia in the east.
| Black-necked weaver | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ploceidae |
| Genus: | Ploceus |
| Species: | P. nigricollis
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| Binomial name | |
| Ploceus nigricollis (Vieillot, 1805)
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Taxonomy and systematics edit
The species was formally described in 1805 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot, who named it Malimbus nigricollis. The description was based on a specimen that had been collected near Malimbe, now Malembo, in the Cabinda Province of Angola.[2] The species epithet nigricollis combines the Latin words Latin words, niger meaning "black" and collis meaning "necked".[3]
Subspecies edit
There are two subspecies recognized:[4]
- P. n. nigricollis – (Vieillot, 1805): Found from eastern Cameroon to southern Sudan, western Kenya, north-western Tanzania, southern Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. Also on the island of on Bioko
- P. n. melanoxanthus – (Cabanis, 1878): Found from southern Ethiopia and southern Somalia to central and eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania
The black-necked weaver was formerly considered to be conspecific with the olive-naped weaver. The two species differ in plumage and in the colour of the iris.[4][5] A molecular study published in 2019 found that the two species are genetically very similar.[6]
Description edit
The black-necked weaver is a stocky 16 cm bird with a strong conical bill. The adult male of the northern race has olive upper-parts and wings, and yellow underparts and head. It has a black eye-mask and bib, and a pale yellow iris. The non-breeding male has a yellow head with an olive crown, grey upper-parts and whitish. The wings remain yellow and black.
The adult female also has olive upper-parts and wings, and yellow underparts and head. It has a black eyemask but no bib.
The southern race found from Nigeria eastwards has a quite different appearance, with almost black upper-parts and tail.
The black-necked weaver feeds on insects and vegetable matter. The calls of this bird include a wheezing dew-dew-twee .
Distribution and habitat edit
Behaviour and ecology edit
It builds a large coarsely woven nest made of grass and creepers with a 15 cm downward facing entrance tunnel hanging from the globular egg chamber. The nest is suspended from a branch in a tree and 2-3 eggs are laid. It nests in pairs but forms small flocks when not breeding.
References edit
- ^ BirdLife International (2017). "Ploceus nigricollis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T103811662A119722313. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T103811662A119722313.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1805). Histoire naturelle des plus beaux oiseaux chanteurs de la zone torride (in French). Paris: Chez J.E. Gabriel Dufour. p. 74; Plate XLV.
- ^ "Black-necked Weaver Ploceus nigricollis". Weaver Watch. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ Kirwan, G.M.; Craig, A.J.F.; del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N. (2022). Billerman, S.M.; Sly, N.D. (eds.). "Olive-naped Weaver (Ploceus brachypterus), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.bknwea1.01.
- ^ De Silva, T.N.; Peterson, A.T.; Perktas, U. (2019). "An extensive molecular phylogeny of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae) unveils broad nonmonophyly of traditional genera and new relationships". The Auk. 136 (ukz041). doi:10.1093/auk/ukz041.
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
External links edit
- Black-necked weaver – Species text in Weaver Watch.