Weavers are named for their intricately woven nests. The nests come in various sizes and shapes, with different material used to build the nests.
From the giant nests of the sociable weavers, housing up to 500 weavers in a single nest, to the untidy communal nest of the buffalo-weaver, to the elaborately woven nest of the masked weavers, each species has an individual structure to its nest.
The most intricate nests are built by the males and he will build many nests before the female will accept the nest and breed.
The male Cape weaver is a large weaver, at 17 cm in length, with a long pointed black bill and a pale eye. The breeding male has yellow unde...
The golden weaver is a large weaver, at 17 cm in length, with a heavy black bill, a pale yellow eye, yellow underparts and head, and a chest...
The male lesser masked-weaver in breeding colours, has a black mask that extends to the centre of the crown and the bill is black. The upper...
The male long-tailed widowbird is the largest of the widowbirds at 60 cm, found in South Africa. This bird is very conspicuous in its breedi...
The red-billed buffalo-weaver is the largest weaver in South Africa, at 23 cm. The male red-billed buffalo-weaver has a red bill and legs wi...
The red-billed quelea is a sparrow-sized bird around 12 cm in length, with a cone, seed eater shaped, bill. The red-billed quelea is a bird ...
With the sociable weaver, the sexes are basically indistinguishable. They have a black chin and face mask, a brown cap and are distinctively...
The male southern masked weaver and the village weaver are very similar in appearance out of the breeding season, except that the village we...
The male southern red bishop has eclipse plumage, meaning it changes colour during the breeding season. Breeding males are brightly coloured...
The village weaver is possibly the most widely spread and common species of weaver in South Africa. During the breeding season, the male vil...
The white-browed sparrow-weaver is a large sparrow-like weaver at around 17 cm in length. It has brown and white plumage, a conspicuous whit...