Chestnut-and-black Weaver
Ploceus castaneofuscus
Males have an unusual and distinctive coloration: mostly black, with a chestnut back and belly. Females are brownish-olive, with paler underparts, and a rufous tinge to the rump. Both sexes have a pale eye: yellow in males and pale-brown in females. Found in wet scrub, cultivation, and along forest edge. Usually found in flocks and bustling breeding colonies. Vocalizations are typical of weavers: “chet” notes and a sizzling, “radio static” song. Females could be confused with various other weaver species, but are usually identified by their association with the distinctive males.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ploceus castaneofuscus
- Authority
- Lesson, RP, 1840
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Ploceus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Southern Black-Tit
Melaniparus niger
A large, active, noisy black tit with white shoulders, white edgings to the wing feathers, and a barred gray-and-white undertail. Pairs and small groups form the core of mixed-species feeding flocks in broadleaf woodland and thorn scrub. The species is often detected by its noisy buzzing and chirping vocalizations, including a sweet-and-scratchy “diddy-dzee-dzee-dzee-dzee-dzee.” The very similar Carp’s Tit is black under the tail; ranges only narrowly overlap.
Plumbeous Antbird
Myrmelastes hyperythrus
Large, short-tailed antbird of floodplain forest understory. Both sexes largely gray with a bare blue skin patch around the eye and a prominent white spots on the shoulder. Females are particularly distinctive with extensive orange underparts. Forages singly or in pairs in dense undergrowth, like heliconias and streamside vegetation. Song is a chortling accelerating trill.
Eared Pygmy-Tyrant
Myiornis auricularis
Miniscule greenish-yellow flycatcher with a short tail that is easily overlooked in the lower levels of humid forests and second growth. Note the chestnut eye patch fringed by a black crescent (ear patch), its pale streaky gray neck, and yellow-olive back. The wings make a buzzing noise in flight. Listen for its repetitive “prrii-priii-prii” song and its “pic-pic-pic” call.
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