How do you identify a Ruvu Weaver?

Male Ruvu weavers are bright yellow with an orange face. Full identification notes are on this page.

Where can you see a Ruvu Weaver?

The Ruvu Weaver is endemic to Tanzania, which is the only country where it occurs.

What birds look similar to a Ruvu Weaver?

The Ruvu Weaver is most easily confused with the Juba Weaver, the Juba Weaver and the Katanga Masked Weaver.

Is the Ruvu Weaver endangered?

The Ruvu Weaver is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

Ruvu Weaver

Ploceus holoxanthus

Weavers and Allies · Passeriformes · Legendary

The Ruvu Weaver (Ploceus holoxanthus) is a legendary weaver found only in Tanzania. The Ruvu weaver is a species of songbird in the family Ploceidae.

Near ThreatenedLegendaryEndemic

Ruvu Weaver (Ploceus holoxanthus), photo 1 — Photo: Tom Field · CC BY 4.0

Ruvu Weaver (Ploceus holoxanthus), photo 2 — Photo: (c) avocat, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Ruvu Weaver (Ploceus holoxanthus), photo 3 — Photo: (c) Tom Field, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Ruvu Weaver (Ploceus holoxanthus), photo 4 — Photo: (c) Tom Field, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Ruvu Weaver (Ploceus holoxanthus), photo 5 — Photo: (c) Tom Field, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

About the Ruvu Weaver

The Ruvu weaver is a species of songbird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to northeastern Tanzania.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

Male Ruvu weavers are bright yellow with an orange face. The dark brown eye is a key distinguishing feature from male African golden-weavers, which have red eyes. The wings of male Ruvu weavers are pale yellow, with the palest plumage on the tertials. Females are olive in colour with a bicoloured bill, dark on the maxilla and pale on the mandible. Ruvu weaver measures 12cm in length and is smaller than African golden-weaver. Voice: The first audio recordings of Ruvu weaver were collected in 2023 near Morogoro, including male courtship, song, and calls. The song of the male is similar to African golden-weaver in tone and is slightly lower in pitch. Male courtship behaviour involves displaying while hanging below a nest, calling rapidly and fluffing body feathers while lowering the wings and fanning the tail.

Where it lives

Tanzania

When to see it

Best months: April, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in October. It is a passage migrant species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Ruvu Weaver?: Male Ruvu weavers are bright yellow with an orange face. Full identification notes are on this page.
Where can you see a Ruvu Weaver?: The Ruvu Weaver is endemic to Tanzania, which is the only country where it occurs.
What birds look similar to a Ruvu Weaver?: The Ruvu Weaver is most easily confused with the Juba Weaver, the Juba Weaver and the Katanga Masked Weaver.
Is the Ruvu Weaver endangered?: The Ruvu Weaver is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Ruvu Weaver for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

Play BeakBrain

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