Ploceidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea

Familia: Ploceidae
Genera: Amblyospiza - Anaplectes - Brachycope - Bubalornis - Dinemellia - Euplectes - Foudia - Histurgops - Malimbus - - Philetairus - Plocepasser - Ploceus - Pseudonigrita - Quelea - Sporopipes

Genera synonymized: Pachyphantes – into Ploceus.
Name

Ploceidae Sundevall, 1836

Typus: Ploceus Cuvier, 1816

References
Primary references

Sundevall, C.J. 1835. Ornithologiskt System. Kungliga Svenska vetenskapsakademiens handlingar ["Documents of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences"] Ser. 3, t. 23: 43–130. BHL Reference page. p. 74 as Ploceïdes BHL

Additional references

De Silva, T.N., Peterson, A.T., Bates, J.M., Fernando, S.W. & Girard, M.G. 2017. Phylogenetic relationships of weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae): A first robust phylogeny based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 109: 21–32. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2016.12.013 PDF Reference page.

Vernacular names
беларуская: Ткачыкавыя
বাংলা: বাবুই
Deutsch: Webervögel
English: Weavers
suomi: Kutojat
ગુજરાતી: સુગરી
नेपाली: तोपचरा
Nederlands: Wevers en verwanten
ଓଡ଼ିଆ: ବାଇଚଢେଇ
português: Ploceinae
svenska: Vävar
ไทย: นกกระจาบ, นกจาบ
Türkçe: Dokumacı kuşugiller
中文: 织布鸟科

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.[1] 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.[2]
Taxonomy and systematics

The family Ploceidae was introduced (as Ploceïdes) by Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1836.[3][4] Phylogenetic studies have shown that the family is sister to a clade containing the families Viduidae and Estrildidae[5] Their common ancestor lived in the middle Miocene around 18 million years ago.[6]

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.[7][8] A cladogram based on these results is shown below.[8]
Ploceidae

Amblyospiza – thick-billed weaver

Sporopipes – 2 species (weavers)

Plocepasser – 4 species (sparrow-weavers)

Philetairus – sociable weaver

Pseudonigrita – 2 species (social weavers)

Dinemellia – white-headed buffalo weaver

Bubalornis – 2 species (buffalo weavers)

Euplectes – 18 species (bishops and widowbirds)

Ploceus – 5 species (Asian weavers)

Quelea – 3 species (queleas)

Pachyphantes – compact weaver

Foudia – 8 species (fodies)

Ploceus – 2 species (Sakalava weaver and Nelicourvi weaver)

Ploceus+Malimbus+Anaplectes – 60 + 10 + 2 = 72 species
Genera

The family includes 15 genera with a total of 122 species.[9] For more detail, see list of Ploceidae species.
Image Genus Species
Bubalornis A. Smith, 1836

Red-billed buffalo weaver (Bubalornis niger)
White-billed buffalo weaver (Bubalornis albirostris)

Dinemellia Reichenbach, 1863

White-headed buffalo weaver (Dinemellia dinemelli)

Plocepasser 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)

Histurgops Reichenow, 1887

Rufous-tailed weaver (Histurgops ruficauda)

Pseudonigrita Reichenow, 1903

Grey-capped social weaver (Pseudonigrita arnaudi)
Black-capped social weaver (Pseudonigrita cabanisi)

Philetairus A. Smith, 1837

Sociable weaver (Philetairus socius)

Sporopipes Cabanis, 1847

Speckle-fronted weaver (Sporopipes frontalis)
Scaly-feathered weaver (Sporopipes squamifrons)

Amblyospiza Sundevall, 1850

Thick-billed weaver (Amblyospiza albifrons)

Ploceus 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)
Clarke's 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)
Compact weaver (Ploceus superciliosus)
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)

Malimbus 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)

Quelea Reichenbach, 1850

Cardinal quelea (Quelea cardinalis)
Red-headed quelea (Quelea erythrops)
Red-billed quelea (Quelea quelea)

Anaplectes Reichenbach, 1863

Red-headed weaver (Anaplectes rubriceps)
Red weaver (Anaplectes jubaensis)

Foudia 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 Reichenow, 1900

Bob-tailed weaver (Brachycope anomala)

Euplectes 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.[10] Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.

Many weaver species are gregarious and breed colonially.[2] 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.[11][12]