Bird Guide

Cape Weaver vs Village Weaver

Cape Weaver (Ploceus capensis)

Cape Weaver

Ploceus capensis

Small44 gWoodland

The Cape weaver is a stocky 17 cm long bird with streaked olive-brown upperparts and a long pointed conical bill. The breeding male has a yellow head and underparts, an orange face, and a white iris. The adult female has an olive-yellow head and breast, shading to pale yellow on the lower belly. The female's eyes are brown, but 19% have pale eyes in summer and thus eye colour alone cannot be used to determine the sex. Young birds are similar to the female. Voice: The song of the Cape weaver is a harsh, rather hysterical sizzle. The alarm call is a sharp double chip and the contact call is a harsh "azwit".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Diego Rubolini · CC BY 4.0
Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus)

Village Weaver

Ploceus cucullatus

Small36 gWoodland

The village weaver is a stocky, 15–17 cm (5.9–6.7 in) bird with a strong conical bill and dark reddish eyes. In the northern part of its range, the breeding male has a black head edged by chestnut (typically most distinct on the nape and chest). Towards the southern part of its range, the amount of black and chestnut diminish, and the breeding males of the southernmost subspecies only have a black face and throat, while the nape and crown are yellow. In all subspecies, the breeding male has a black bill, black and yellow upperparts and wings, and yellow underparts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Village Weaver
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Call · Kilifi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

Learn this pair in the BeakBrain App

Photo and call practice. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.

Play today's Daily Bird

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Cape Weaver and Village Weaver.