Cape Weaver: how to recognise it
A bird of Africa. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Felix Riegel · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Ploceus capensis
- Family
- Weavers and Allies
- Size
- About 17 cm
- Habitat
- Fynbos, reedbeds, gardens and farmland
- Found in
- Africa
The key marks
The male is yellow with an orange wash on the face, an olive back, a pale cream eye and a heavy dark bill. Southern Masked Weaver is smaller, with a black face mask and a red eye.
Voice
A loud, wheezy, swizzling chatter from the colony.
Good to know
Males weave hanging nests of grass strips in colonies and hang beneath them, fluttering to attract a female.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Southern Masked Weaver. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in fynbos, reedbeds, gardens and farmland. It is especially common in South Africa. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.