Heuglin's Masked-Weaver
Ploceus heuglini
A small, yellow-eyed masked-weaver with a plain green back. The breeding male has a black face mask extending to a point on the upper breast, without a chestnut wash around the mask. Female and juvenile are duller, with a buff wash on the breast and a lightly streaked back. A fairly common resident throughout open savanna and semi-arid areas, often nesting colonially near ant and wasp nests. Many similar-looking weavers do not overlap in range with Heuglin’s: the larger Village and Vitelline Masked-Weavers have red eyes, and Lesser Masked-Weaver has a black (not yellow) forehead.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ploceus heuglini
- Authority
- Reichenow, 1886
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Ploceus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Green-throated Mountain-gem
Lampornis viridipallens
Rather large hummingbird of humid evergreen forest in the mountains of eastern Chiapas and south to western Honduras. Rather inconspicuous in shady understory and at edges, where feeds at all levels on flowers. Despite the name, often looks rather drab, with dark mask, whitish throat (spotted green on male, but color is hard to see), and green upperparts. Best field mark is the tail, which in flight flashes extensive pale gray on the sides.
Raiatea Fruit-Dove
Ptilinopus chrysogaster
An unmistakable dove with a bright silver head, neck, and chest, dark green wings, a light green belly, and a yellowish tint to the forehead. Bill is bright banana yellow. Unique within its range. Call is a typical dove-like cooing, starting with “wooo wooo” followed by sounds likened to a taunting laughter.
Great Rosefinch
Carpodacus rubicilla
As the name suggests, a large rosefinch. Male is bright pink with a dark face and frosty specks on the underparts. Female is streaky brown all over. Very similar to Streaked Rosefinch; look out for unstreaked upperparts in the male and softer, larger white spots on the underparts. Prefers more sparsely vegetated areas at higher elevations than Streaked Rosefinch, favoring alpine and subalpine scree slopes, boulder fields, and other open and barren environments; descends into similar habitat in the winter. Gives various chips, cheeps, and wheezy notes.
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