White-headed Buffalo-weaver
Encyclopedia
The White-headed Buffalo Weaver (Dinemellia dinemelli) is a species of passerine
bird
in the family Ploceidae native to East Africa
. The buffalo part of its name derives from its habit of following the African buffalo
, feeding on disturbed insects. Two subspecies are recognized.
Eduard Rüppell
in 1845. Alternate common names include White-faced Buffalo-weaver, Witkop-buffelwever (in Dutch), Alecto à tête blanche (in French), Starweber (in German), Bufalero Cabeciblanco and Tejedor Búfalo de Cabeza Blanca (in Spanish), and Tessitore dei bufali testabianca (in Italian).
, Kenya
, Somalia
, Sudan
, Tanzania
, Uganda
. It prefers habitats such as savanna
, and shrublands, but especially dry brush and Acacia
thickets.
Like the most weavers, it is a gregarious bird which forages on the ground for insects, especially beetle
s and butterflies
, fruits, and seeds, often in groups with starling
s. Foraging is often done in groups of 3–6 birds. Its sound is parrot-like: “skwieeer”, “kiiyerr”, a ringing and repetitious “tew”. In addition, variable sounds as chuckles and whistles can be heard at breeding and roosting sites. The sounds are slow and drawn out. They also make trills: “tsu-weely-weely-wair”. They often perch in trees and hang upside-down and can be very noisy. Breeding and roosting is done in groups and they can be defensive against intruders, usually by making noise. Altercations are rarely fatal and usually vocal. Males display to females by spreading their wings to show their white wing-patches and red-orange tail-coverts
.
Breeding pairs are monogamous and nests are built together. The breeding season depends according to rainfall and varies according to local conditions. Nest materials are pushed together, not interwoven, to form an oval 570 millimetres (22.4 in) wide. A short entrance tube opens downwards and is about 2 to 4 m (6.6 to 13.1 ft) above the ground. Soft materials line the inner portions of the nest, which usually has several rooms, with defensive thorny branches on the outside. A large tree will have several of their nests, which other birds such as the African Pygmy-falcon are known to use instead of building their own. The female incubates 3–5 greyish to pale blue eggs with red, brown and olive markings for 11–14 days. Both parents feed the chicks.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the family Ploceidae native to East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. The buffalo part of its name derives from its habit of following the African buffalo
African Buffalo
The African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
, feeding on disturbed insects. Two subspecies are recognized.
Taxonomy
The White-headed Buffalo Weaver was first described by the German naturalistNatural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
Eduard Rüppell
Eduard Rüppell
Wilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell was a German naturalist and explorer. Rüppell is occasionally transliterated to "Rueppell" for the English alphabet....
in 1845. Alternate common names include White-faced Buffalo-weaver, Witkop-buffelwever (in Dutch), Alecto à tête blanche (in French), Starweber (in German), Bufalero Cabeciblanco and Tejedor Búfalo de Cabeza Blanca (in Spanish), and Tessitore dei bufali testabianca (in Italian).
Subspecies
Two subspecies of the White-headed Buffalo Weaver are now recognized.- D. d. dinemelli (E. RüppellEduard RüppellWilhelm Peter Eduard Simon Rüppell was a German naturalist and explorer. Rüppell is occasionally transliterated to "Rueppell" for the English alphabet....
, 1845), northern part of its range: Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, northern Kenya. - D. d. boehmi (A. ReichenowAnton ReichenowAnton Reichenow was a German ornithologist.Reichenow was the son-in-law of Jean Cabanis, and worked at the Humboldt Museum from 1874 to 1921. He was an expert on African birds, making a collecting expedition to West Africa in 1872 and 1873, and writing Die Vögel Afrikas...
, 1885), southern part of its range: Kenya and Tanzania.
Description
The White-headed Buffalo Weaver is 170 to 190 mm (6.7 to 7.5 in) in length and 57 to 85 g (2 to 3 oz) in weight. In addition to its white head and underparts, the White-headed Buffalo Weaver has a vividly orange-red rump and undertail coverts. Its thighs are dark brown. Narrow white bands can be found on the wings. Both sexes are similar in plumage and hard to differentiate. The bill is conical and black. D. dinemelli has a brown tail, whereas D. boehmi has a black tail.Distribution and habitat
The White-headed Buffalo Weaver is native to the African countries of: EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. It prefers habitats such as savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
, and shrublands, but especially dry brush and Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
thickets.
Behaviour
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s and butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, fruits, and seeds, often in groups with starling
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...
s. Foraging is often done in groups of 3–6 birds. Its sound is parrot-like: “skwieeer”, “kiiyerr”, a ringing and repetitious “tew”. In addition, variable sounds as chuckles and whistles can be heard at breeding and roosting sites. The sounds are slow and drawn out. They also make trills: “tsu-weely-weely-wair”. They often perch in trees and hang upside-down and can be very noisy. Breeding and roosting is done in groups and they can be defensive against intruders, usually by making noise. Altercations are rarely fatal and usually vocal. Males display to females by spreading their wings to show their white wing-patches and red-orange tail-coverts
Covert (feather)
A covert feather on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts, which as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.- Wing-coverts :...
.
Breeding pairs are monogamous and nests are built together. The breeding season depends according to rainfall and varies according to local conditions. Nest materials are pushed together, not interwoven, to form an oval 570 millimetres (22.4 in) wide. A short entrance tube opens downwards and is about 2 to 4 m (6.6 to 13.1 ft) above the ground. Soft materials line the inner portions of the nest, which usually has several rooms, with defensive thorny branches on the outside. A large tree will have several of their nests, which other birds such as the African Pygmy-falcon are known to use instead of building their own. The female incubates 3–5 greyish to pale blue eggs with red, brown and olive markings for 11–14 days. Both parents feed the chicks.