{{Short description|Family of small passerine birds}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Weavers | image = Black-headed weaver (Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi) male nest building.jpg | image_upright = 1.2 | image_caption = A male village weaver (''Ploceus cucullatus bohndorffi''), building his nest | taxon = Ploceidae | authority = Sundevall, 1836 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = See text. | type_genus =''Ploceus'' }}
'''Ploceidae''' is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called '''weavers''', '''weaverbirds''', '''weaver finches''', or '''bishops'''. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifications, the Ploceidae are a clade that excludes some birds that have historically been placed in the family, such as some of the sparrows, but which includes the monotypic subfamily Amblyospizinae. The family is believed to have originated in the mid-Miocene.<ref name="des">{{cite journal|last1=De Silva|first1=Thilina N.|last2=Peterson|first2=A. Townsend |last3=Bates |first3=John M. |last4=Fernando |first4=Sumudu W. |last5=Girard |first5=Matthew G. |title=Phylogenetic relationships of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae): A first robust phylogeny based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | year=2017 |volume=109 |pages=21–32 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.013 |pmid=28012957|bibcode=2017MolPE.109...21D |s2cid=205841906 }}</ref> All birds of the Ploceidae are native to the Old World, most in Africa south of the Sahara, though a few live in tropical areas of Asia. A few species have been introduced outside their native range.<ref name=HBW>{{ cite book | last=Craig | first=Adrian J.F.K. | year=2010 | chapter=Family Ploceidae (Weavers) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Christie | editor3-first=D.A. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World | volume=15: Weavers to New World Warblers | location=Barcelona, Spain | publisher=Lynx Edicions | isbn=978-84-96553-68-2| pages=73–197 | chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0015unse/page/73/mode/1up | chapter-url-access=registration }}</ref>
==Taxonomy and systematics== The family Ploceidae was introduced (as Ploceïdes) by Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1836.<ref>{{cite periodical| last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names |periodical=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |number=222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History |location=New York | pages=157, 260 | hdl=2246/830 | url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/830 }}<!--Linked page allows download of the 48MB pdf--></ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last=Sundevall | first=Carl Jakob | year=1836 | title=Ornithologiskt system | journal=Kongliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar | volume=23 | pages=43–130 [74] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34523886 }}</ref> Phylogenetic studies have shown that the family is sister to a clade containing the families Viduidae and Estrildidae<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=De Silva TN, Peterson AT, Perktas U |date=1 July 2019 |title=An extensive molecular phylogeny of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae) unveils broad nonmonophyly of traditional genera and new relationships |journal=The Auk |volume=136 |issue=3 |article-number=ukz041 |doi=10.1093/auk/ukz041 |doi-access=}}</ref> Their common ancestor lived in the middle Miocene around 18 million years ago.<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Oliveros | first1=C.H. | display-authors=etal | year=2019 | title=Earth history and the passerine superradiation | journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States | volume=116 | issue=16 | pages=7916–7925 | doi=10.1073/pnas.1813206116 | pmid=30936315 | pmc=6475423 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2019PNAS..116.7916O }}</ref>
A 2017 molecular phylogenetic study by Thilina de Silva and collaborators, as well as an expanded study by the same group published in 2019 have indicated that the genus ''Ploceus'' as currently defined is polyphyletic.<ref name=silva2017>{{Cite journal | last1=De Silva | first1=T.N. | last2=Peterson | first2=A.T. | last3=Bates | first3=J.M. | last4=Fernando | first4=S.W. | last5=Girard | first5=M.G. | date=2017 | title=Phylogenetic relationships of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae): A first robust phylogeny based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=109 | pages=21–32 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.013 | pmid=28012957 | bibcode=2017MolPE.109...21D | s2cid=205841906 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311908775 }}</ref><ref name=silva2019>{{Cite journal | last1=De Silva | first1=T.N. | last2=Peterson | first2=A.T. | last3=Perktas | first3=U. | date=2019 | title=An extensive molecular phylogeny of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae) unveils broad nonmonophyly of traditional genera and new relationships | journal=The Auk | volume=136 | issue=ukz041 | article-number=ukz041 | doi=10.1093/auk/ukz041 | doi-access= }}</ref> A cladogram based on these results is shown below.<ref name=silva2019/> {{clade| style=font-size:90%;line-height:90% |label1='''Ploceidae''' |1={{Clade |1={{Clade |1=''Amblyospiza'' – thick-billed weaver |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Sporopipes'' – 2 species (weavers) |2={{clade |1=''Plocepasser'' – 4 species (sparrow-weavers) |2={{clade |1=''Philetairus'' – sociable weaver |2=''Pseudonigrita'' – 2 species (social weavers) }} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Dinemellia'' – white-headed buffalo weaver |2=''Bubalornis'' – 2 species (buffalo weavers) }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Euplectes'' – 18 species (bishops and widowbirds) |2={{clade |1=''Ploceus'' – 5 species (Asian weavers) |2={{clade |1=''Quelea'' – 3 species (queleas) |2={{clade |1=''Pachyphantes'' – compact weaver |2=''Foudia'' – 8 species (fodies) }} }} }} }} |2={{clade |1=''Ploceus'' – 2 species (Sakalava weaver and Nelicourvi weaver) |2=''Ploceus''+''Malimbus''+''Anaplectes'' – 60 + 10 + 2 = 72 species }} }} }} }} }} }} }}
===Genera=== The family includes 16 genera with a total of 122 species.<ref name=avilist>{{ cite web | author=AviList Core Team | date=2025 | title=AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025 | doi=10.2173/avilist.v2025 | doi-access=free | url=http://www.avilist.org/checklist/v2025/ | access-date=20 November 2025 }}</ref> For more detail, see list of Ploceidae species. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image ! Genus !Species |- |175px |''Bubalornis'' {{small|A. Smith, 1836}} | * Red-billed buffalo weaver (''Bubalornis niger'') * White-billed buffalo weaver (''Bubalornis albirostris'') |- |175px |''Dinemellia'' {{small|Reichenbach, 1863}} | * White-headed buffalo weaver (''Dinemellia dinemelli'') |- |175px |''Plocepasser'' {{small|A. Smith, 1836}} | * Donaldson Smith's sparrow-weaver (''Plocepasser donaldsoni'') * Chestnut-backed sparrow-weaver (''Plocepasser rufoscapulatus'') * Chestnut-crowned sparrow-weaver (''Plocepasser superciliosus'') * White-browed sparrow-weaver (''Plocepasser mahali'') |- |175px |''Histurgops'' {{small|Reichenow, 1887}} | * Rufous-tailed weaver (''Histurgops ruficauda'') |- |175px |''Pseudonigrita'' {{small|Reichenow, 1903}} | * Grey-capped social weaver (''Pseudonigrita arnaudi'') * Black-capped social weaver (''Pseudonigrita cabanisi'') |- |175px |''Philetairus'' {{small|A. Smith, 1837}} | * Sociable weaver (''Philetairus socius'') |- |175px |''Sporopipes'' {{small|Cabanis, 1847}} | * Speckle-fronted weaver (''Sporopipes frontalis'') * Scaly-feathered weaver (''Sporopipes squamifrons'') |- |175px |''Amblyospiza'' {{small|Sundevall, 1850}} | * Thick-billed weaver (''Amblyospiza albifrons'') |- |175px |''Ploceus'' {{small|Cuvier, 1816}} | * Baglafecht weaver (''Ploceus baglafecht'') * Bannerman's weaver (''Ploceus bannermani'') * Bates's weaver (''Ploceus batesi'') * Black-chinned weaver (''Ploceus nigrimentus'') * Bertram's weaver (''Ploceus bertrandi'') * Slender-billed weaver (''Ploceus pelzelni'') * Loango weaver (''Ploceus subpersonatus'') * Little weaver (''Ploceus luteolus'') * Spectacled weaver (''Ploceus ocularis'') * Black-necked weaver (''Ploceus nigricollis'') * Olive-naped weaver (''Ploceus brachypterus'') * Strange weaver (''Ploceus alienus'') * Black-billed weaver (''Ploceus melanogaster'') * Cape weaver (''Ploceus capensis'') * Bocage's weaver (''Ploceus temporalis'') * Eastern golden weaver (''Ploceus subaureus'') * Holub's golden weaver (''Ploceus xanthops'') * Orange weaver (''Ploceus aurantius'') * Heuglin's masked weaver (''Ploceus heuglini'') * Golden palm weaver (''Ploceus bojeri'') * Taveta weaver (''Ploceus castaneiceps'') * Príncipe weaver (''Ploceus princeps'') * Northern brown-throated weaver (''Ploceus castanops'') * Southern brown-throated weaver (''Ploceus xanthopterus'') * Ruvu weaver (''Ploceus holoxanthus'') * Kilombero weaver (''Ploceus burnieri'') * Rüppell's weaver (''Ploceus galbula'') * Northern masked weaver (''Ploceus taeniopterus'') * Lesser masked weaver (''Ploceus intermedius'') * Southern masked weaver (''Ploceus velatus'') * Katanga masked weaver (''Ploceus katangae'') * Lufira masked weaver (''Ploceus ruweti'') * Tanzanian masked weaver (''Ploceus reichardi'') * Vitelline masked weaver (''Ploceus vitellinus'') * Speke's weaver (''Ploceus spekei'') * Fox's weaver (''Ploceus spekeoides'') * Village weaver (''Ploceus cucullatus'') * Giant weaver (''Ploceus grandis'') * Vieillot's black weaver (''Ploceus nigerrimus'') * Chestnut-and-black weaver (''Ploceus castaneofuscus'') * Weyns's weaver (''Ploceus weynsi'') * Kilifi weaver (''Ploceus golandi'') * Juba weaver (''Ploceus dichrocephalus'') * Black-headed weaver (''Ploceus melanocephalus'') * Golden-backed weaver (''Ploceus jacksoni'') * Cinnamon weaver (''Ploceus badius'') * Chestnut weaver (''Ploceus rubiginosus'') * Golden-naped weaver (''Ploceus aureonucha'') * Yellow-mantled weaver (''Ploceus tricolor'') * Maxwell's black weaver (''Ploceus albinucha'') * Nelicourvi weaver (''Ploceus nelicourvi'') * Sakalava weaver (''Ploceus sakalava'') * Asian golden weaver (''Ploceus hypoxanthus'') * Black-breasted weaver (''Ploceus benghalensis'') * Streaked weaver (''Ploceus manyar'') * Baya weaver (''Ploceus philippinus'') * Finn's weaver (''Ploceus megarhynchus'') * Dark-backed weaver (''Ploceus bicolor'') * Preuss's weaver (''Ploceus preussi'') * Yellow-capped weaver (''Ploceus dorsomaculatus'') * Olive-headed weaver (''Ploceus olivaceiceps'') * Usambara weaver (''Ploceus nicolli'') * Brown-capped weaver (''Ploceus insignis'') * Bar-winged weaver (''Ploceus angolensis'') * São Tomé weaver (''Ploceus sanctithomae'') * Yellow-legged weaver (''Ploceus flavipes'') |- |175px |''Pachyphantes'' {{small|Shelley, 1896}} | * Compact weaver (''Pachyphantes superciliosus'') |- |175px |''Malimbus'' {{small|Vieillot, 1805}} | * Red-crowned malimbe (''Malimbus coronatus'') * Cassin's malimbe (''Malimbus cassini'') * Rachel's malimbe (''Malimbus racheliae'') * Gola malimbe (''Malimbus ballmanni'') * Red-vented malimbe (''Malimbus scutatus'') * Ibadan malimbe (''Malimbus ibadanensis'') * Blue-billed malimbe (''Malimbus nitens'') * Red-headed malimbe (''Malimbus rubricollis'') * Red-bellied malimbe (''Malimbus erythrogaster'') * Crested malimbe (''Malimbus malimbicus'') |- |175px |''Quelea'' {{small|Reichenbach, 1850}} | *Cardinal quelea (''Quelea cardinalis'') *Red-headed quelea (''Quelea erythrops'') *Red-billed quelea (''Quelea quelea'') |- |175px |''Anaplectes'' {{small|Reichenbach, 1863}} | * Red-headed weaver (''Anaplectes rubriceps'') * Red weaver (''Anaplectes jubaensis'') |- |175px |''Foudia'' {{small|Reichenbach, 1850}} | *Red fody or Madagascar fody (''Foudia madagascariensis'') *Comoros fody or red-headed fody (''Foudia eminentissima'') *Aldabra fody (''Foudia aldabrana'') *Forest fody (''Foudia omissa'') *Mauritius fody (''Foudia rubra'') *Seychelles fody (''Foudia sechellarum'') *Rodrigues fody (''Foudia flavicans'') *Réunion fody (''Foudia delloni'') |- | |''Brachycope'' {{small|Reichenow, 1900}} | * Bob-tailed weaver (''Brachycope anomala'') |- |175px |''Euplectes'' {{small|Swainson, 1829}} | * Yellow-crowned bishop (''Euplectes afer'') * Fire-fronted bishop (''Euplectes diadematus'') * Black bishop (''Euplectes gierowii'') * Black-winged red bishop (''Euplectes hordeaceus'') * Northern red bishop or orange bishop (''Euplectes franciscanus'') * Southern red bishop or red bishop (''Euplectes orix'') * Zanzibar red bishop (''Euplectes nigroventris'') * Golden-backed bishop (''Euplectes aureus'') * Yellow bishop (''Euplectes capensis'') * Fan-tailed widowbird (''Euplectes axillaris'') * Yellow-mantled widowbird (''Euplectes macroura'') * White-winged widowbird (''Euplectes albonotatus'') * Red-collared widowbird (''Euplectes ardens'') * Red-cowled widowbird (''Euplectes laticauda'') * Marsh widowbird (''Euplectes hartlaubi'') * Montane widowbird (''Euplectes psammacromius'') * Long-tailed widowbird (''Euplectes progne'') * Jackson's widowbird (''Euplectes jacksoni'') |- |}
==Description== The males of many species in this family are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black. Some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills.
==Distribution and habitat== The weaverbird colonies may be found close to bodies of water.
==Behaviour and ecology== Weavers are named for their elaborately woven nests. The nests vary in size, shape, material used, and construction techniques from species to species. Materials used for building nests include fine leaf fibers, grass, and twigs. Many species weave very fine nests using thin strands of leaf fiber, though some, like the buffalo-weavers, form massive untidy stick nests in their colonies, which may have spherical woven nests within. The sociable weavers of Africa build apartment-house nests, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. The sparrow weavers live in family units that employ cooperative breeding.<ref name="lewis">{{cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=Dale M. |title=Cooperative breeding in a population of White-browed Weavers ''Plocepasser mahali''. |journal=Ibis |date=3 April 2008 |volume=124 |issue=4 |pages=511–522 |doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1982.tb03795.x }}</ref> Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.
Many weaver species are gregarious and breed colonially.<ref name="HBW"/> The birds build their nests together for protection, often several to a branch. Usually, the male birds weave the nests and use them as a form of display to lure prospective females.
==Relationship to humans== They sometimes cause crop damage, notably the red-billed quelea, reputed to be the world's most numerous bird.<ref>Fry, C.H. & Keith, S. (2004) The birds of Africa vol. VII. Christopher Helm, London</ref><ref>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Quelea quelea'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22719128A132125738 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22719128A132125738.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery mode="packed" heights="140" style="font-size:100%; line-height:130%"> File:Under Construction - Weaver Bird.jpg|A nest in the early stages of construction File:Weaverbirds at West Bengal.jpg|Weaverbirds at West Bengal File:Sporopipes squamifrons 1838.jpg|Adult ''Sporopipes'' at its spherical grass nest, placed in a shrub File:Nids de Plocepasser mahali (Namibie) (3).jpg|''Plocepasser'' nest in Namibia, for year-round occupation.<ref name="lewis"/> File:2010-09-25 09-03-47 Namibia Hardap Isabis.jpg|Communal ''Philetairus'' nests in central Namibia File:Pseudonigrita-arnaudi-Nest.JPG|''Pseudonigrita'' nest in Kenya, with entrance below File:Black-breasted Weaver Ploceus benghalensis by Dr. Raju Kasambe 03.jpg|Black-breasted weaver nest suspended from grass, India File:Ploceidae.jpg|A baya weaver on his unfinished nest, northern India File:Nests_in_Palmyra_Palm_tree.jpg|Nests of a baya weaver colony suspended from a palm tree, India File:Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea) (6041539514).jpg|Male ''Quelea'' at nest concealed in thorny ''Senegalia'' shrub File:Euplectes orix -Pretoria, South Africa -male weaving nest-8 (1).jpg|Red bishop constructing a nest in reeds, South Africa File:Weaver bird nests at Ifaty (3445328641).jpg|Nests of a colony of Sakalava weavers, Madagascar File:GambiaGeorgeTown043 (12249665914).jpg|Spherical village weaver nests suspended from a palm tree, West Africa File:Tisserin Etosha.jpg|A southern masked weaver building his nest, Namibia File:ASC Leiden - van de Bruinhorst Collection - Somaliland 2019 - 4530 - A detail of the nest of weaver birds hanging from a tree.jpg|Hanging nest, Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 2019. </gallery>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{Portal|Birds}} *{{ cite journal | last1=De Silva | first1=T.N. | last2=Peterson | first2=A.T. | last3=Perktas | first3=U. | year=2019 | title=An extensive molecular phylogeny of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae) unveils broad nonmonophyly of traditional genera and new relationships | journal=The Auk | volume=20 | issue=3 | pages=1–21 | doi=10.1093/auk/ukz041 | doi-access= }}
{{Ploceidae}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q211601}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Ploceidae Category:Bird families Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa