Malawi, September-October 2008
Page 13: Sparrows, Weavers, Bishops and Widowbirds
All dates between 22nd and 30th relate to September, all dates from 1st to 10th relate to October.
House Sparrow Passer domesticus [13]
Not a native species to Malawi but arrived in the 1960s having spread from an introduced population in coastal SE Africa. Apparently it can now be found across most regions in Malawi though it is still spreading - I only found them at 2 locations: 10 Satemwa Tea Factory (Thyolo) 29th and up to 3 Cool Runnings (Senga Bay) 9th-10th.
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House Sparrow, Senga Bay, 9th October
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House Sparrows, Satemwa Tea Factory (Thyolo), 29th September
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Southern Grey-headed Sparrow Passer diffusus [36]
Two forms of Grey-headed Sparrow occur in Malawi: stygiceps in the Lower Shire Valley and south end of Lake Malawi and mosambicus throughout the country. Most authorities treat both of these forms as races of Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, however Birds of Malawi suggests that mosambicus might be better placed with (Northern) Grey-headed Sparrow Passer griseus. It also suggests that the form stygiceps might be of hybrid origin.
Grey-headed Sparrow spp. recorded as follows: at Liwonde 7 24th and 23 25th; 4 Makuzi 8th and up to 2 Cool Runnings (Senga Bay) 9th-10th. Liwonde falls within the range plotted in Birds of Malawi for stygiceps whereas the others should be mosambicus, whichever species that is.
Yellow-throated Petronia Petronia superciliaris [6]
Up to 6 Dzalanyama 1st-2nd.
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Yellow-throated Petronia, Dzalanyama, 2nd October
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White-browed Sparrow-Weaver Plocepasser mahali [100]
Up to 100 Liwonde 23rd and 25th. Most of these were along the track between the entrance to the park and Mvuu Camp - relatively few around Mvuu itself, hence only 2 on 24th.
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White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, Liwonde, 23rd-25th September
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Red-headed Weaver Anaplectes rubriceps [1]
1 at the entrance to Liwonde 23rd. When I saw it the guard was waiting for me to drive through the gate so I only had time for a single blurry photo.
Red-headed Weaver, Liwonde, 23rd September
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Bertram's Weaver (Bertrand's Weaver) Ploceus bertrandi [1]
1 near Zomba Forest Lodge 27th.
Spectacled Weaver Ploceus ocularis [6]
1 Malosa 23rd, 1 Liwonde 25th, 1 nesting near Zomba Forest Lodge 27th, 1 Makuzi Lodge 8th and up to 2 (adult with juvenile) 9th-10th.
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Spectacled Weaver, Liwonde, 25th September
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Spectacled Weaver, Malosa, 23rd September
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Spectacled Weaver, near Zomba Forest Lodge, 27th September
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Yellow Weaver (African Golden Weaver) Ploceus subaureus [41]
1-2 Dzalanyama 2nd, 10 Makuzi Lodge 8th and 30 between Makuzi and Salima 8th.
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Yellow Weavers, Makuzi Lodge, 8th October
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Yellow Weaver, Dzalanyama, 2nd October
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Southern Brown-throated Weaver Ploceus xanthopterus [15]
Up to 12 Liwonde 23rd-25th, probably involving over 15 birds. These were very easy to see around Mvuu Camp, even visiting the tables and chairs at the restaurant to find crumbs after the paying guests had finished eating!
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Southern Brown-throated Weavers, Liwonde, 23rd-24th September
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Lesser Masked Weaver Ploceus intermedius [23]
Up to 22 Liwonde 23rd-25th. Less common than Southern Brown-throated Weaver at Mvuu Camp but higher numbers in total due to nesting flocks at the riverside. Also a female photographed in the colony of Village and Yellow Weavers at Makuzi Lodge 8th, although no males seen among these.
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Lesser Masked Weavers, Liwonde, 23rd-24th September
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Lesser Masked Weaver, Makuzi Lodge, 8th October
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Southern Masked Weaver (African Masked Weaver) Ploceus velatus [-]
2 possibles Vwaza Marsh 4th - I'm not sure about the identity of these, one of which is shown in the dreadful photos below - if you can shed any light please get in touch. The rather bright-edged flight feathers recalled Southern Brown-throated Weaver, which is perhaps possible, but the pattern of the wing-coverts and pale upper mandible is at odds with the birds seen at Liwonde. Also the eye seems like it might not be dark enough.
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probable Southern Masked Weaver, Vwaza Marsh, 4th October
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Village Weaver (Spotted-backed Weaver) Ploceus cucullatus [22]
12 nesting at Makuzi Lodge 8th. In addition I carelessly dismissed a colony of red-eyed, dark-hooded weavers along the river at Lilongwe 10th as Village Weavers; as I didn't have much time and knew I'd already got photos of this species I didn't take any record shots, but in hindsight I wondered whether or not they could have been Southern Masked Weavers. I have since discovered that there are indeed Village Weavers nesting along the river here so I assume that my original ID was correct.
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Village Weavers, Makuzi Lodge, 8th October
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Forest Weaver (Dark-backed Weaver) Ploceus bicolor [4]
1 near Zomba Forest Lodge 27th, 2 Ruo Gorge (Mulanje) 29th and 1 Thyolo Mountain 30th.
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Forest Weaver, Thyolo Mountain, 30th September
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Forest Weaver, near Zomba Forest Lodge, 27th September
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Forest Weaver, Ruo Gorge (Mulanje), 29th September
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Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea [70]
70 Liwonde 25th. At the time I thought these were likely to be Red-billed Queleas but was concerned by the dullness of the red bills. The strength of red varied, but none were brighter red than the right-hand bird in the photo below. On returning home I still can't find any reference confirming that the bill colour is ok but two experienced birders who are regular visitors to Africa (thanks Martin and Duncan) both suggested Red-billed Quelea as the ID.
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apparent Red-billed Queleas, Liwonde, 25th September
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Black-winged Bishop Euplectes hordeaceus [2]
Generally the non-breeding plumaged Bishops were impossible (for me) to identify but single very contrastingly dark-winged birds (in flight) among Bishop flocks were presumably males of this species: 1 Lake Chilwa 26th and 1 Dzalanyama 2nd. It's possible that the whole flocks were Black-winged Bishops, but I suspect they were mixed flocks.
Yellow Bishop (Yellow-rumped Bishop) Euplectes capensis [2]
1 near Liwonde 23rd and 1 Nyika 7th; both were in small flocks which may all have been the same species.
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Yellow Bishop, near Liwonde, 23rd September
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White-winged Widowbird (White-winged Whydah) Euplectes albonotatus [1]
A possible female Liwonde 24th and a much easier male Vwaza Marsh 4th.
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White-winged Widowbird, Vwaza Marsh, 4th October
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Yellow-shouldered Widowbird (Yellow-shouldered Whydah) Euplectes (macroura) macrocercus [3]
3+ Addis Ababa Airport 22nd. Yellow-shouldered Widowbird and Yellow-mantled Widowbird (below) are often considered conspecific.
Yellow-mantled Widowbird (Yellow-mantled Whydah) Euplectes (macroura) macroura [15]
Up to 15 Dzalanyama 1st-2nd. This form is often treated as a race of Yellow-shouldered Widowbird (above). I'm not 100% sure if the birds in the photographs below are the birds that I identified in the field as this species - please let me know if you can confirm what they are!
Montane Widowbird (Mountain Marsh Widowbird, Buff-shouldered Widowbird) Euplectes psammocromius [60+]
60+ Nyika 5th and 6th. This species has a very small world distribution, restricted to southern Tanzania and the Nyika Plateau in Malawi. It proved very common at Nyika, especially between the airstrip and the dams. Its identification was much easier than other species of Bishop and Widowbird because unlike the others the males of this species attain breeding plumage by late September/early October.
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Montane Widowbirds, Nyika Plateau, 5th-6th October
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Bishop/Widowbird sp. Euplectes sp. [-]
Up to 40 Dzalanyama 1st-2nd, 500 Vwaza Marsh 4th and 5 Nyika 7th. With the exception of the birds at Dzalanyama, the small size, absence of dark wings, yellow rumps/shoulders or other distinguishing marks made me wonder if these were most likely Red Bishops (Southern Red Bishops) Euplectes orix. One of the birds in the large flock at Vwaza shows quite a bit of white in the wings - could White-winged Bishop be a better ID? That species is meant to be common at Vwaza (I saw at least one, above), but most of the birds didn't seem to have an unusual amount of white on the wings whereas I'd expect the males to have done so if they were all White-winged. The flock of larger birds at Dzalanyama on 2nd contained 1 Yellow-shouldered Widowbird but the absence of yellow shoulders suggests that they were not all this species, unless it was a flock of females.
Grosbeak Weaver (Thick-billed Weaver) Amblyospiza albifrons [4]
1 Lake Chilwa 26th, 1 flew over the dambo at Dzalanyama 1st and 3 flew over at the same time and place on 2nd.
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Grosbeak Weaver, Dzalanyama, 1st October
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Grosbeak Weaver, Lake Chilwa, 26th September
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