Ploceus megarhynchus
The Finn's Weaver (Ploceus megarhynchus) is a striking passerine belonging to the family Ploceidae, renowned for its intricate nest-building. Males in breeding plumage are dazzling, sporting a bright golden-yellow head and underparts, contrasting with a streaked olive-brown back and a robust, conical black bill; they measure approximately 15 cm in length. Females and non-breeding males are more subdued, exhibiting duller yellowish-brown streaked upperparts, a pale supercilium, and paler under...
This species exclusively inhabits tall, dense grasslands and reed beds, particularly those dominated by *Saccharum* and *Typha* species, found adjacent to wetlands, rivers, and swamps in lowland areas. It is typically found at elevations below 300 meters.
Their diet primarily consists of grass seeds, which they expertly extract from seedheads, supplemented by various insects, especially during the breeding season and when feeding nestlings. They forage by climbing and gleaning within dense vegetation.
Finn's Weavers are primarily diurnal, actively foraging during the day and roosting communally within their dense grassland habitat at night. Their foraging strategy involves meticulously climbing grass stems to extract seeds with their strong bills, occasionally supplementing their diet with ins...
The Finn's Weaver is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, with its fragmented distribution primarily concentrated across the Terai region of India and Nepal. In India, it is found in localized populations within the lowlands of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, and Arunachal P...
Vulnerable
- Named after Frank Finn, a British ornithologist who worked in India. - For a long time, it was considered one of the world's rarest birds, with fears of extinction. - The subspecies *Ploceus megarhynchus salimalii* was discovered in Nepal by the legendary Indian ornithologist Salim Ali in 1959....