Yellow-mantled Weaver

Ploceus tricolor

A neatly patterned weaver that stays high above the ground in forests and old farmland, often near flooded areas or water, in small groups or with mixed-species flocks. Black head and vent contrast with the dark gray or reddish belly. Upperparts are black except for a bright gold triangular patch on the back. Engages in a wide variety of foraging behaviors, including gleaning, flycatching, and hitching up larger branches and trunks in a woodpecker-like fashion.  Occurs with several other species of weaver, but note Yellow-mantled Weaver’s distinct upperparts and the contrast between its black throat and vent and its paler belly. Calls include mechanical whistles and rasps and dry chatters, sometimes combined in complex songs. 

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Ploceus tricolor
Authority
(Hartlaub, 1854)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Ploceidae
Genus
Ploceus

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner

Rufous-rumped Foliage-gleaner

Neophilydor erythrocercum

A medium-sized bird, brownish above and pale buff below, with a bright rufous rump and tail and a distinctive buffy line behind the eye. Found in tall rainforest, where it occurs mainly in the midstory and canopy, but occasionally in the understory. Will follow mixed species flocks at all levels. Feeds on insects and forages actively, often investigating dead leaf clusters and other accumulations of detritus. Song is a short, weak series of squeaking notes that fades away; call is a hard doubled note. Most similar to Rufous-tailed Foliage-gleaner but somewhat larger and more likely to occur at lower levels in the forest; both tail and rump are rufous in Rufous-rumped.

Orangequit

Orangequit

Euneornis campestris

A small inhabitant of moist woodlands where it feeds on nectar and fruit. Note the short and slightly down-curved bill. Males are glossy plumbeous blue with a brick-orange throat but can appear black in poor lighting. Females have a warm brown back that contrasts with a deep gray crown. The Jamaican Euphonia is superficially similar, but has a stubby bill and a greenish back. Vocalizations include a high, thin “tsit-tsit,” with the second note louder and higher in pitch, plus a thin, descending whistled “tsee-uh.”

Zarudny's Sparrow

Zarudny's Sparrow

Passer zarudnyi

Small, delicate pallid sparrow. Both sexes have pale gray upperparts, a black bib, black lines in front of the eyes (lores), sandy underparts, and large white wing patches. Found in sandy arid habitats and desert scrub.

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