Village Weaver

Ploceus cucullatus

Males weave intricate grass nests, then females inspect and reject them. Males tear it down and try again. Committed.

Population: Not globally quantified; described as generally abundant across its range with a stable population trend (BirdLife/IUCN 2018 assessment)
Habitat: Open and semi-open habitats — savanna, farmland, plantations, rural gardens, open woodland, and areas of human habitation; nests colonially in large trees (especially palms) and reedbeds near permanent water; avoids dense forest interior and arid regions
Fun fact: Male Village Weavers build elaborate hanging nests from roughly 300 strips of leaf, working the whole time with their feet locked in the same position, and colonies can contain over a hundred such nests in a single tree.
Range: Widespread resident across sub-Saharan Africa (absent from the arid southwest and parts of the northeast), occupying an extensive native range of roughly 23.9 million km²; introduced populations established in Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico, Martinique, Mauritius, Réunion, Portugal, and (recently recorded) northwest Venezuela
Diet: Primarily seeds and grain (including rice where available), supplemented with insects (especially when feeding chicks), fruit (including ripe cactus fruit in the Caribbean), and fresh vegetation
Size: 0.165 m
Wingspan: 0.225 m
Lifespan: 10 years

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