Village Weaver
Ploceus cucullatus Β· isiZulu: iHlokohloko
🔍 Enlarge Here all year Β· best AugβMar. In season now
What it sounds like
A busy, buzzing, chattering colony, like a swarm mixed with static. Loudest through spring and summer.
Richard White, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0How to recognise it
The best free entertainment in any Durban garden. The male strips palm and grass leaves and weaves a hanging nest in a few days, then hangs beneath it flapping to advertise. The female inspects it, and if it is not up to standard she tears it apart and he starts again. Some males build and lose five or six nests in a season.
Right now: Weavers are back at the colonies and the males have started building.
Seen in Manor Gardens
Nobody has logged a Village Weaver here yet. If you spot one, you will be the first on the record.