Ploceus spekeoides
Speke's Weaver, *Ploceus spekei*, is a striking passerine bird endemic to East Africa, renowned for its vibrant yellow plumage and complex social behaviors. Males are easily identified by their brilliant golden-yellow head and underparts, starkly contrasted by a jet-black face mask extending from the bill to behind the eye, and an olive-yellow back streaked with black. Females, while sharing the general pattern, are considerably duller, exhibiting a greenish-yellow coloration with a less defi...
Primarily inhabits open acacia savanna, grassland with scattered trees, and shrubland at low to moderate elevations. It shows a strong affinity for human-modified landscapes, frequently found in urban and suburban gardens, parks, and agricultural areas.
An omnivorous species, its diet consists mainly of seeds from various grasses and cultivated cereals, supplemented significantly by insects, particularly during the breeding season.
Speke's Weavers are highly social and diurnal, often observed foraging and roosting in large flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes communally roosting in dense trees or reedbeds. During the breeding season, males become intensely territorial, defending a small nesting space within a colon...
Speke's Weaver is endemic to East Africa, with its primary breeding and non-breeding range extending across central and southern Ethiopia, much of Kenya, and south into north-central Tanzania. It also has a presence in parts of Somalia. This species is largely non-migratory, exhibiting mostly loc...
Least Concern
- Speke's Weaver was named after John Hanning Speke, the British explorer who located the source of the Nile River. - A single male can build over 10 intricately woven nests in a breeding season to attract multiple mates. - Females meticulously inspect the male's nest quality before accepting him...