Bar-winged Weaver
Ploceus angolensis
A localized woodland weaver that has dark brown upperparts, yellow back and rump, obvious white wing bars, and pale underparts suffused with lemon on the belly and flanks. Juvenile is like adult but with a pale crown and bill. Restricted to mature evergreen (Cryptosepalum) dry forests and Miombo woodland where ‘Old Man’s Beard’ Usnea lichen is abundant; singles and pairs sometimes join mixed-species flocks and forage secretively for insects by creeping along branches like a nuthatch or creeper; does not nest colonially. Not very vocal, but occasionally calls a series of high-pitched squeaks, buzzes, and churrs.
Identification
The weaver is 13cm in length, with dark coloring on the top of the bird's body and light on the bottom. It has dark blackish-brown feathers covering the top of the head and continuing down onto the wings. The wings also contain white tips at the end of each feather, with the female containing much more white. In the middle of the wings, a yellow strip runs down the back of the weaver. The tail resembles the same blackish-brown coloring that is on the head and wings. The chin and belly have a white and yellow wash of color and the females are seen with a whiter coloring. The bill is black, the legs are brown, and the eye iris of the weaver is red.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ploceus angolensis
- Authority
- (Barboza du Bocage, 1878)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Ploceus
Range and habitat
Weavers live in mature evergreen (Cryptosepalum) forests and Miombo (Brachystegia) woodland which is moist enough to grow Usnealichen on the trees.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
The bar-winged weaver is a very poorly known species. It is very uncommon in the range of habitats it is said to be found in. The bird is not globally threatened and can be found in protected areas in Zambia.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bugun Liocichla
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Small laughingthrush-like bird with a tiny range in far northeastern India. Look for a neat black cap, glowing yellow-orange broken “eyebrow,” and yellow-tinged wings. Appears to favor dense forest edge and degraded forest at 2060-2340 meters. Clambers about in lower levels of forest, typically in pairs or small groups, occasionally with otherwise uniform flocks of other species. Song is a series of mellow descending whistles, often with a slight rise at the end.
Dusky White-eye
Zosterops finschii
Small and rather drab. Brown above, darkest on head and wings. Grayish-buff below with a grayer throat. Can appear uniformly gray in dull forest light. Dark eye lacks a white eye-ring. Most common in forest but also found in forest edge and brush. Giant White-eye similar but overall darker, with thick orange bill and pale yellowish eyebrow. Dusky’s most common call is a “cheee.”
Black-spectacled Brushfinch
Atlapetes melanopsis
Rare brushfinch with a highly restricted range in the eastern Andes of central Peru. It has an ornate head pattern with a partial black mask bordered by chestnut, black-and-white mustache stripes, and a white spot between the eye and the bill. The only similar species is Apurimac Brushfinch, which is found farther southeast and has a smaller mask and thinner black mustache. Black-spectacled inhabits scrubby areas at the forest edge. Song is a series of rich, wheezing notes.
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