Grosbeak Weaver
Amblyospiza albifrons
A large dark weaver with a massive bill. The male is brown with a dark bill and a white dash on the forehead and wing. The female has a pale bill and is heavily streaked underneath. Pairs are resident, breeding in wetlands and rank areas adjacent to well wooded groves and forest; flocks form in the non-breeding season. The species feeds on fruit and insects in the canopy and on the forest floor. The song is a rapid high-pitched warble that includes multiple sputtering trills, for example “pit-pit-pit-pit chweeer-kuuuurrrr”.
Taxonomy
The generic name Amblyospiza was coined by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1850 and means "blunt, finch", referencing the very large bill, while the specific name albifrons refers white forehead of the males. The thick-billed weaver was formally described as Pyrrhula albifrons in 1831 by the Irish zoologist and politician Nicholas Aylward Vigors from the collection of Henry Ellis, the specimens of which were attributed to Algoa Bay and environs in the Eastern Cape.<p>Ten subspecies are currently recognized:
- Scientific name
- Amblyospiza albifrons
- Authority
- (Vigors, 1831)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Amblyospiza
Range and habitat
It has a patchy distribution in West, East and southern Africa, where it is present in marshes, uplands, suburban areas and artificial wetlands.<p>Thick-billed weavers breed in reedy wetlands and can be found around forest edge outside the breeding season.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Thick-billed weavers are polygynous, in that a single male attempts to attract and mate with several females. A male may attract up to six females, and up to three nests may be active in any male's territory at once. When found at low density there are many apparently monogamous pairs, but they normally nest in small colonies. More than 100 nests have been counted in one South African colony. After mating the female normally will lay a clutch of 3 whitish pink eggs, spotted with red, purple and brown. The incubation of the eggs is carried out solely by the female. This lasts 14 to 16 days and the chicks are fed by regurgitation by the female until they fledge, though occasionally the male may also feed the young. The chicks fledge after about 18 to 20 days in the nest. The nests are vulnerable to predation and recorded nest predators include the white-browed coucal, house crow and the Nile monitor. After the nests have been used by the weavers they may be commandeered by climbing mice, or used for breeding by the orange-breasted waxbill or brown firefinch.<p>The thick-billed weaver constructs a distinctive nest which is compact, woven with thin strips of reeds and hung between the upright stems of reeds. It is globe-shaped with the entrance (unlike other weaver nests) near the top and facing to the side. The male weaves the nest with fine material leaving a neat impression, but the weave is in fact not as complex or developed as that of other weaver species. The initial entrance is large, but when a female has chosen the nest the entrance reduced to a narrow opening. Thick-billed weaver colonies may involve a single male, or may contain several males, and is usually established in a reed swamp.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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.
Black-crowned Palm-Tanager
Phaenicophilus palmarum
A slow-moving and occasionally tail-twitching species of woodland thickets and dense cover; often found in mixed-species flocks. Note its black face and crown that is boldly marked with white spots and contrasts sharply with an entirely white throat. The similar Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager has a gray crown and a gray center to the throat. Vocalizations include a high thin “tseeoo” and “ts” as well as a nasal “byu.”
Ashy Woodpecker
Mulleripicus fulvus
A large gray-and-buff woodpecker confined to Sulawesi and nearby islands, where it is the only big woodpecker. Beady pale eye is conspicuous. Male shows extensive red on the face, absent in females, which instead show extensive white spotting on head. Juveniles have pale spotting and limited red on the face. Found in pairs or small groups on trunks and large limbs within the upper levels of forest and forest patches in the lowlands and mountains. Gives a slow, deliberate drum as well as a laugh-like trill: “kik-kik-kik-kik-kik-kik-kik-kik.”
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