Finn's weaver

Finn's weaver
Male from Baur Reservoir Uttarakhand
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae
Genus: Ploceus
Species: P. megarhynchus
Binomial name
Ploceus megarhynchus
Hume, 1869

Finn's weaver or Finn's baya (Ploceus megarhynchus), also known as yellow weaver is a species of weaver bird found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra valleys in India and Nepal. Two races are known; the nominate from the Kumaon area and salimalii from the eastern Terai.

An artist's illustration of the species

The species was named by Hume based on a specimen obtained at Kaladhungi near Nainital. The species was rediscovered in the Terai near Calcutta by Frank Finn.[2] Oates called it "The Eastern Baya" in 1889 and Stuart Baker called it Finn's baya in the second edition (1925) of the Fauna of British India.[3][4]

Ecology

They breed from May to September.[5] The nest is built on top of trees or in reeds. The nest is different in structure from the other weaver species found in India, but as in other weavers, woven from thin strips of leaves and reeds. This species lines the entire inside of the nest, unlike the other weavers, which line only the floor of the nest. Males strip the leaves of the nest tree, making the globular nests clearly visible.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Ploceus megarhynchus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Beolens, B., Watkins, M. (2003). Whose bird? Men and women commemorated in the common names of birds. Christopher Helm. (Note: this source incorrectly notes that Finn collected the Kaladhungi specimen. The type specimen was collected for or by Hume and Finn was still a child.)
  3. Baker, ECS (1925). Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 3 (2 ed.). London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 69–70.
  4. Oates, EW (1890). Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 2. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 177–178.
  5. BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Ploceus megarhynchus. BirdLife International: Yellow Weaver

Other references

External links

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