Categories: golden, island, nectar, palm, blue eggs
Discovery
The above is based on Weaver Wednesday 2, a weekly series about the discovery of each weaver species.
This species text first appeared as Weaver Wednesday [172] – Discovery [55]: Principe Golden Weaver on 2015-09-30
1. Basic biology
Principe Golden Weaver male, bird stampPrincipe Golden Weaver, male, from Shelley 1905
Identification. The Principe Golden Weaver is a large yellow, heavy-billed weaver. The male has an orange-chestnut head and a conspicuous yellow eye. The female is yellowish with an olive head, horn bill and also has a yellow eye. Juveniles have brown eyes. There are no other yellow weaver species on Principe.
Distribution. The Principe Golden Weaver is is restricted to the island of Principe in the Gulf of Guinea, and it is one of the commonest birds on the Island. It is found throughout the island (see light green on map above) and is often the first endemic bird seen by visitors to the island.
Having a restricted global range, no subspecies are recognised.
Habitat. The Principe Golden Weaver is abundant in all habitats and has adapted to degraded habitats; it occurs in well-timbered areas, including natural forest, secondary forest, plantations, villages and gardens, and open grassland areas.
Food. The Principe Golden Weaver may be mainly insectivorous, but has a varied diet which includes beetles, seeds, berries, the fruit of bananas, chillis and oil palms, and nectar from Erythrina trees. It probes bark and flowers, gleans insects from branches, and also hawks flying insects. The Principe Golden Weaver often forages in groups of up to 30 individuals, and may join mixed-species flocks.
Principe Golden Weaver, male at nest
Breeding. The Principe Golden Weaver is monogamous and usually is a solitary breeder. Sometimes it is colonial, with several pairs nesting in the same tree, but with the nests well spaced. The male displays and sings while hanging below his nest, beating his wings vigorously.
The nest is globular or oval, and the entrance below has no tunnel. The nest is woven by the male from strips torn from leaves of palms or banana trees. Sometimes living leaves are included into the nest structure. The nest is lined with fine grass and fluffy grass-heads. It is suspended usually more than 10 m above the ground from the tip of a branch or palm frond.
One or two plain blue eggs are laid by the female. The male aids in feeding large nestlings.
Nests are sometimes robbed by the Blue-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon malimbica and by the Principe Glossy Starling Lamprotornis ornatus.
The above is based on Weaver Wednesday, a weekly series about weaver species.
This species text first appeared as Weaver Wednesday [56]: Principe Golden Weaver on 2013-07-10
2. Breeding facts
Pair bond
Monogamous
Breeding season
May-Jun and Aug-Sept
Nest site
suspended usually more than 10 m above ground from tip of branch or palm frond
Nest building
woven by male
Colony size
Solitary, sometimes colonial; several pairs may nest in same tree, nests well spaced
Clutch size
1-2 eggs
Egg colour
plain blue
Egg size
no information
Incubation
no information
Chicks and nestling period
male assists in feeding large nestlings, no information on nestling period
Breeding information based on Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 15.