Black-breasted weaver

Black-breasted weaver
	Breeding male in northern India
	Female or non-breeding male in Uttar Pradesh, India
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Ploceidae
Genus:	Ploceus
Species:	P. benghalensis
Binomial name
	Ploceus benghalensis; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
	Loxia benghalensis Linnaeus, 1758

The black-breasted weaver (Ploceus benghalensis), also known as the Bengal weaver or black-throated weaver, is a weaver resident in the northern river plains of the Indian subcontinent. Like the other weavers, the males build an enclosed nest from reeds and mud, and visiting females select a mate at least partially based on the quality of the nest.

Taxonomy

The black-breasted weaver was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the crossbills in the genus Loxia and coined the binomial name Loxia benghalensis.^[2] Linnaeus based his account on two earlier descriptions and hand-coloured illustrations by English naturalists. In 1734 Eleazar Albin had included the "Bengal sparrow" in his A Natural History of Birds, while in 1751 George Edwards had included the "yellow-headed Indian sparrow" in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Both authors had access to specimens owned by the silk-pattern designer Joseph Dandridge that had been collected in Bengal.^[3]^[4] The black-breasted weaver is now one of 67 species placed in the genus Ploceus that was introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1816. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[5]

Description

The black-breasted weaver is sparrow-sized with a total body length of about 15 cm. The male in breeding plumage has a brilliant golden-yellow crown and a variable amount of black on the head and breast; some males have an entirely black head (apart from the yellow crown) and breast, while others have a white throat or an entirely white face with a black band separating it from the fulvous-white underparts. In the non-breeding male and female, the crown is brown like the rest of the upperpart plumage, and the black pectoral band is less developed. It has a prominent supercilium, a spot behind ear, and narrow moustachial streaks, which are pale yellow. Flocks frequent cultivation and the reedy margins of tanks and jheels (shallow lakes), or extensive tall grass areas.^[6]

Distribution

Resident or local migrant, endemic to South Asia. Species is described as 'common' in at least parts of its range.^[7] It is found throughout northern part of Indian subcontinent, with small populations in the Peninsular region. Local Names: Hindi: Sarbo baya, Bengali: কালোবুক বাবুই (Kalo-buk babui), বাংলা বাবুই (Bangla babui), শর বাজা (Shor baJa), কান্তাওয়ালা বায়া (Kantawala baya).

Behaviour

It is polygynous and colonial, and on the whole similar to that of the baya and streaked weavers.

Breeding

Breeding takes place between June and September. Nests are in scattered groups of 4 or 5; sometimes larger colonies. The male constructs the nest single-handedly, with a group of females visiting it during late construction stage, jumping on the helmets, tugging and testing, presumably for strength. If a female appears interested, the male bows low before her, presenting his golden crown to her. He flaps his wings deliberately and sings softly tsi-tsisik-tsisik-tsik-tsik, like the chirp of a cricket or the subdued squeaking of an unoiled bicycle wheel. Once the female agrees and permits copulation, he quickly completes the rest of the nest, and she lays her eggs inside. He immediately commences a second nest nearby to attract other females, and occasionally a third nest, or very rarely a fourth. Nests not accepted by females may be torn down by the builder himself.^[8]

The nest is similar to that of the streaked weaver; somewhat smaller and normally with shorter entrance tubes. Built in reed-beds in marsh, often moonj or kans (Saccharum spontaneum), with some of the growing reeds incorporated into the dome as support. Entrance tube is somewhat shorter than Baya weavers (up to about 25 cm). At the 'helmet' stage of construction a quantity of wet mud or cowdung is daubed thickly along the edge, with bright coloured scarlet or orange flowers or flower petals (Lantana, Lagerstroemia) incorporated; observations suggest that this is part of the courtship rituals and exercise a direct influence on the reactions of the visiting female, both for this species and the streaked weaver.^[8] The clutch is 3 or 4 white eggs.

Gallery

Male in breeding plumage in South India
Nest suspended from grass, India

References

^ BirdLife International (2018). "Ploceus benghalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22718999A132123774. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22718999A132123774.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 175.
^ Albin, Eleazar; Derham, William (1734). A Natural History of Birds : Illustrated with a Hundred and One Copper Plates, Curiously Engraven from the Life. Vol. 2. London: Printed for the author and sold by William Innys. p. 48, Plate 52.
^ Edwards, George (1751). A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Vol. 4. London: Printed for the author at the College of Physicians. p. 189, Plate 189.
^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
^ Ali, Salim; J C Daniel (1983). The book of Indian Birds, Twelfth Centenary edition. New Delhi: Bombay Natural History Society/Oxford University Press.
^ Grimmett, R.; Inskipp, C.; Inskipp, T. (1999). Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton field guides. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-04910-6.
^ ^a ^b Ali, Salim; Sidney Dillon Ripley (2001) [1986]. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, 2nd ed., 10 vols (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Synopsis / Handbook Number 1012, vol. 10, p. 100-102. For black-breasted weaver behaviour and nest, quotes articles by Cooke (JBNHS v.60:1-48) and Ambedkar (JBNHS:69:268-82).