Thick-billed Weaver
Amblyospiza albifrons
Reedbeds and adjacent bush. Male blackish-brown all over, with a white wing-spot and white forehead when breeding; bill black; female dark brown above, whitish below, heavily streaked dark brown; bill horn-coloured.
Queleas, Sparrows, Weavers
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Common resident. Heavy bill diagnostic; the male’s white frontal patches present in the breeding season only. Female recognised by thick bill and heavily streaked underparts. The immature resembles the female but the bill is yellower. Nesting birds (summer) utter a monotonous chattering; male occasionally sings an almost musical song. Pairs and small parties occur in reed beds and the bush adjacent to rivers, pans and swamps when breeding; at other times found in coastal bush, riverine forests and wooded valleys. Flocks frequently seen flying slowly overhead between feeding and roosting sites while giving high-pitched calls. Currently expanding its range westwards, and now common in Gauteng and surrounds.
Quick Facts
Size
18 cm - S
Names
A: Dikbekwewer
Z: usiqhophokezi
G: Weißstirnweber
Bird Family
A very large group of conical-billed, mainly seed-eating birds. Many breed colonially and weave complicated nests that aid identification.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Pairs and small parties occur in reed beds and the bush adjacent to rivers, pans and swamps when breeding; at other times found in coastal bush, riverine 'forest's and wooded valleys.
