Ploceus golandi
The Kilifi Weaver (Ploceus golandi) is a strikingly dimorphic passerine belonging to the family Ploceidae, renowned for its vivid plumage and elusive nature. Males are instantly recognizable by their glossy black face and throat, contrasting sharply with bright golden-yellow underparts and olive-green upperparts, measuring approximately 14 cm in length. Females, by contrast, exhibit a much duller, more cryptic plumage, with an olive-brown head and upperparts, and pale yellowish underparts, la...
The Kilifi Weaver is an obligate resident of dense, humid lowland coastal forests, primarily favoring the understory and mid-canopy strata. It thrives in well-preserved indigenous forest patches, avoiding degraded or disturbed areas.
The Kilifi Weaver's diet primarily consists of small insects, including caterpillars and beetles, supplemented by various grass seeds and small fruits. It forages by gleaning from foliage and bark within the forest understory.
This elusive weaver typically forages singly or in pairs, occasionally joining mixed-species flocks outside the breeding season, though its shy nature often keeps it hidden in dense foliage. It gleans insects and small seeds from leaves, twigs, and bark, often hanging upside down to access food i...
The Kilifi Weaver boasts an exceptionally restricted geographical distribution, primarily endemic to a few isolated patches of coastal forest in Kenya. Its core range is centered around the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest in Kilifi County, Kenya, which holds the largest known population. Smaller, highly fr...
Endangered
- The Kilifi Weaver is named after John Goland, who collected the first specimen in 1912 near Kilifi, Kenya. - It is considered one of Africa's rarest and most range-restricted passerine birds. - Its entire known global breeding range is estimated to be less than 500 square kilometers. - Male Kil...