Bird of the Week – Spectacled weaver
The Zulu name is umdweza and in Afrikaans, die brilwewer.
A fairly common resident confined to the extreme South East and moister Eastern parts of South Africa.
These weavers like riverine forest, adjacent thickets, edges of evergreen forest, dense scrub, gardens and parks. They are usually solitary or in pairs, sometimes in family groups.
They forage in a canopy, dense tangles, creepers, undergrowth, hedges and shrubberies, seldom emerging from cover.
Members of pairs call intermittently with a descending sweet piping ‘tee – tee – tee – tee – tee’, especially when feeding. Its food preference is insects, spiders, millipedes, nectar, fruit and seeds.
Breeding season is from September to February. They build a thin-walled ball shaped nest with a vertical entrance spout 25cm to 30cm long, tied to a drooping branch of a tree, bush or creeper, often overhanging a dry gully or pool about three to six metres above ground or water.
Both male and female build the nest and it takes two to three weeks to complete.
Usually three greenish or pinkish white eggs are laid with grey or brown spots and streaks. Incubation is 13 days and the nestling period is 18 to 19 days.
The Zulu name is umdweza and in Afrikaans, die brilwewer.
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