On 14 December 2019 Rina Pretorius recaptured an adult male Cape Weaver at Wakkerstroom, South Africa. This bird had been ringed on 3 January 2005 by George Viljoen as an immature (around 1 year old) weaver at the same site. It had also been recaptured there 4 years after being ringed. The latest recapture sets the elapsed time at 14y 11m 18d, over a year more than the previous record for this species (see news).
At this particular 1′ x 1′ grid only 153 Cape Weavers have been caught, compared to 1752 Southern Red Bishops and 1043 Southern Masked Weavers.
The Cape Weaver is now in 5th in line for southern African weaver longevities, just passing Fan-tailed Widow which is at 14y 10m. The Sociable Weaver, Southern Masked Weaver and Southern Red Bishop have longevities over 15 years. At the top of the list is Thick-billed Weaver at over 21 years.
