Finn's Weaver
Ploceus megarhynchus
Range-restricted weaver with a powerful dark bill. Male is predominantly yellow with a dark cheek patch. Female is streaky brown above and paler below; lacks the strong streaking and facial patterns of Streaked and Black-breasted Weavers. Female Finn’s is similar to female Baya Weaver, but note the darker coloration, lack of a pale brow stripe, and heavier, sharper-looking bill in female Finn’s. Inhabits open areas with scattered trees; favors wet areas. Colonial nester; males build ball-shaped nests, often in cotton trees.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ploceus megarhynchus
- Authority
- Hume, 1869
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Ploceus
Range and habitat
Finn's weaver was first observed in Shuklaphanta National Park in May 1996 and is a regular summer visitor.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Finn's weaver breeds from May to September. It builds a nest on top of trees or in reeds. The nest is different in structure from the other weaver species found in India, but as in other weavers, woven from thin strips of leaves and reeds. This species lines the entire inside of the nest, unlike the other weavers, which line only the floor of the nest. Males strip the leaves of the nest tree, making the globular nests clearly visible.[citation needed]
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
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Phyllomyias fasciatus
Tiny flycatcher with a shortish dark bill, dark legs, and a long slender tail. It has an olive-gray back, a pale face, a gray cap, and is pale yellow below. Note the white eyerings and two pale wingbars. Subspecies vary in plumage intensity. Found in the canopy of humid forests and woodlands where it often joins mixed-species flocks. The song is a quiet series of three notes “pew-pew-puuit.”
Wangi-wangi White-eye
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Azure-breasted Pitta
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