Ploceidae

Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called weavers, weaverbirds, weaver finches, or bishops. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifications, the Ploceidae are a clade that excludes some birds that have historically been placed in the family, such as some of the sparrows, but which includes the monotypic subfamily Amblyospizinae. The family is believed to have originated in the mid-Miocene. All birds of the Ploceidae are native to the Old World, most in Africa south of the Sahara, though a few live in tropical areas of Asia. A few species have been introduced outside their native range.

Taxonomy and systematics

The family Ploceidae was introduced by Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1836. Phylogenetic studies have shown that the family is sister to a clade containing the families Viduidae and Estrildidae Their common ancestor lived in the middle Miocene around 18 million years ago.
A 2017 molecular phylogenetic study by Thilina de Silva and collaborators, as well as an expanded study by the same group published in 2019 have indicated that the genus Ploceus as currently defined is polyphyletic. A cladogram based on these results is shown below.

Genera

The family includes 16 genera with a total of 122 species. For more detail, see list of Ploceidae species.

Image	Genus	Species
	Bubalornis A. Smith, 1836	Red-billed buffalo weaver White-billed buffalo weaver
	Dinemellia Reichenbach, 1863	White-headed buffalo weaver
	Plocepasser A. Smith, 1836	Donaldson Smith's sparrow-weaver Chestnut-backed sparrow-weaver Chestnut-crowned sparrow-weaver White-browed sparrow-weaver
	Histurgops Reichenow, 1887	Rufous-tailed weaver
	Pseudonigrita Reichenow, 1903	Grey-capped social weaver Black-capped social weaver
	Philetairus A. Smith, 1837	Sociable weaver
	Sporopipes Cabanis, 1847	Speckle-fronted weaver Scaly-feathered weaver
	Amblyospiza Sundevall, 1850	Thick-billed weaver
	Ploceus Cuvier, 1816	Baglafecht weaver Bannerman's weaver Bates's weaver Black-chinned weaver Bertram's weaver Slender-billed weaver Loango weaver Little weaver Spectacled weaver Black-necked weaver Olive-naped weaver Strange weaver Black-billed weaver Cape weaver Bocage's weaver Eastern golden weaver Holub's golden weaver Orange weaver Heuglin's masked weaver Golden palm weaver Taveta weaver Príncipe weaver Northern brown-throated weaver Southern brown-throated weaver Ruvu weaver Kilombero weaver Rüppell's weaver Northern masked weaver Lesser masked weaver Southern masked weaver Katanga masked weaver Lufira masked weaver Tanzanian masked weaver Vitelline masked weaver Speke's weaver Fox's weaver Village weaver Giant weaver Vieillot's black weaver Chestnut-and-black weaver Weyns's weaver Kilifi weaver Juba weaver Black-headed weaver Golden-backed weaver Cinnamon weaver Chestnut weaver Golden-naped weaver Yellow-mantled weaver Maxwell's black weaver Nelicourvi weaver Sakalava weaver Asian golden weaver Black-breasted weaver Streaked weaver Baya weaver Finn's weaver Dark-backed weaver Preuss's weaver Yellow-capped weaver Olive-headed weaver Usambara weaver Brown-capped weaver Bar-winged weaver São Tomé weaver Yellow-legged weaver
	Pachyphantes Shelley, 1896	Compact weaver
	Malimbus Vieillot, 1805	Red-crowned malimbe Cassin's malimbe Rachel's malimbe Gola malimbe Red-vented malimbe Ibadan malimbe Blue-billed malimbe Red-headed malimbe Red-bellied malimbe Crested malimbe
	Quelea Reichenbach, 1850	Cardinal quelea Red-headed quelea Red-billed quelea
	Anaplectes Reichenbach, 1863	Red-headed weaver Red weaver
	Foudia Reichenbach, 1850	Red fody or Madagascar fody Comoros fody or red-headed fody Aldabra fody Forest fody Mauritius fody Seychelles fody Rodrigues fody Réunion fody
	Brachycope Reichenow, 1900	Bob-tailed weaver
	Euplectes Swainson, 1829	Yellow-crowned bishop Fire-fronted bishop Black bishop Black-winged red bishop Northern red bishop or orange bishop Southern red bishop or red bishop Zanzibar red bishop Golden-backed bishop Yellow bishop Fan-tailed widowbird Yellow-mantled widowbird White-winged widowbird Red-collared widowbird Red-cowled widowbird Marsh widowbird Montane widowbird Long-tailed widowbird Jackson's widowbird

Description

The males of many species in this family are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black. Some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills.

Distribution and habitat

The weaverbird colonies may be found close to bodies of water.

Behaviour and ecology

Weavers are named for their elaborately woven nests. The nests vary in size, shape, material used, and construction techniques from species to species. Materials used for building nests include fine leaf fibers, grass, and twigs. Many species weave very fine nests using thin strands of leaf fiber, though some, like the buffalo-weavers, form massive untidy stick nests in their colonies, which may have spherical woven nests within. The sociable weavers of Africa build apartment-house nests, in which 100 to 300 pairs have separate flask-shaped chambers entered by tubes at the bottom. The sparrow weavers live in family units that employ cooperative breeding.
Most species weave nests that have narrow entrances, facing downward.
Many weaver species are gregarious and breed colonially. The birds build their nests together for protection, often several to a branch. Usually, the male birds weave the nests and use them as a form of display to lure prospective females.

Relationship to humans

They sometimes cause crop damage, notably the red-billed quelea, reputed to be the world's most numerous bird.