Masked Weaver
The male has a golden-yellow breast and a black mask on its face. The forehead and throat are also black at the front. The back plumage is olive-green, grey-speckled, and mixed with yellow.
Masked weavers breed high up in the trees
The male has a golden-yellow breast and a black mask on its face. The forehead and throat are also black at the front. The back plumage is olive-green, grey-speckled and mixed with yellow. The wings are rounded and brownish-green. The beak is pointed and black. The limbs and toes are brownish. The female does not have the mask, its plumage is predominantly yellow and green. The chin and throat are light. The beak is flesh-coloured. The iris is brownish and the limbs are brown. During the breeding season, the yellow tones become more intense. The young birds look similar to the female outside the breeding season.
Food and breeding
The masked weaver is, like most other weavers, an extremely sociable bird. The male builds several nests to attract females. The nests are made of plant material, with the male often travelling about 20 kilometres to collect the material. When a nest is finished, he hangs upside down from it and performs acrobatics on it. At the same time, he makes mating calls to attract the female to the nest while it is still fresh. If it is no longer fresh, the females do not come and the male destroys the nest. If a female is interested, it tests the stability of the nest with strong pecks of its beak. The diet consists of insects, seeds and pollen and nectar from the aloe plant. The masked weaver is found mainly in tropical and subtropical forests, dry savannas, subtropical and tropical heathland, wetlands, farmland, pastures, plantations, rural gardens and urbanised areas. It is not considered an endangered bird.
Nest building
The masked weaver is also a master nest builder. It takes about five days to build a nest. During the breeding season, the trees are a hive of activity. All the males are busy building nests. The nests are mainly built in the higher parts of the trees. Often, the males try to cut the twisted ribbon of the neighbour's nest when it is not present. This is how the males try to outdo each other. These damages then have to be repaired the next day. The female that finally uses the finished nest usually lays two to four eggs and incubates them for 11 to 17 days. After a further 11 to 20 days, the young leave the nest.
