Birdsong field guide
Black-billed Weaver
Ploceus melanogaster
The Black-billed Weaver is a distinctive, forest-dwelling passerine known for its atypical solitary behavior and predominantly black plumage. Unlike most of its colonial relatives, it prefers the dense undergrowth and mid-canopy of montane regions.
What it sounds like
A series of thin, high-pitched 'tseet' notes followed by a wheezy, descending chattered 'swizzle' song.
Reference call, compare with what you heard
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Field notes
- It is notably non-gregarious, typically foraging alone or in pairs rather than in the large, noisy colonies common to other weaver species.
- The species exhibits sexual dimorphism: males have golden-yellow faces and throats, while females of the nominate race have yellow extending further back over the crown.
- Its diet is primarily insectivorous, and it is often observed acrobatically gleaning insects and spiders from moss and bark like a nuthatch or tit.
- The nest is a retort-shaped structure made of woven tendrils and fibers, usually lacking the long entrance tunnels found in other Ploceus species.
- It maintains a disjunct distribution, with isolated populations inhabiting the Gulf of Guinea highlands and the Albertine Rift.
Habitat
Primary montane and submontane humid forests, forest edges, and dense secondary growth.
Range
Fragmented ranges across West Africa (Cameroon, Nigeria, Bioko) and East-Central Africa (DRC, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya).
Similar & commonly confused birds
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