The Orange Weaver

Taxonomy: Whenever I acquire any new bird, I always want to know: how is the animal different from other animals, and how is it similar to other birds? So let me place the Orange Weaver in context - in the Animal kingdom, among the higher animals in phylum Chordata, those with backbones and spinal chords which includes humans; in class Aves of all birds; in order Passeriformes, the finches and related soft-billed birds; in family Ploceidae, the African weavers, whydahs and sparrows; genus Euplectes, one of several weaver/whydah genera including Pluceus, Quelea, Sporopipus, Vidua (the parasitic whydahs), and Passer (the sparrows, including Passer domesticus, the house sparrow); species orix, the native African Red Bishop Weaver, and franciscanus, the African Orange Bishop weaver. It seems likely that the domestic stock of orange weavers is a mixture of wild caught orix (which loses its red color after importation) and franciscanus, and captive domestically bred bishop weavers, which has become a nominate subspecies. The most common designation of that subspecies is orix.

Habitat: The Orange Weaver (Euplectes orix orix) progenitor species are native of sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west, to central Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia, and down as far as Uganda and Kenya. It is a member of a large family of skillful nestbuilders, which includes the common American house sparrow. They are closely related also to the African whydahs, and some ornithologists place non-parasitic species of whydah in the weaver family.

Red Bishop Weavers in their native habitat are so named because the collar and other feathers are more reddish than orange there, though the red fades soon after native birds are imported. No one has accurately identified what element of their native environment is responsible for the reddish color, but the Red Bishop Weaver cock is invariably orange/yellow when in season in captivity.

Characteristics: The Orange Weaver cock has seasonal coloration, being a mottled brownish tan (tinged with green in very young birds) when out of season. The coloration follows a Southern Hemisphere pattern, appearing in late summer and lasting till early winter. The collar and back of the neck, tail and wings change to a brilliant orange. The breast and abdomen and top of he head and face change to shiny black. The bill also becomes dense black. The girth and spread of the feathers also increases so the bird appears much larger than he really is, when in color. Hens do not change color, and are somewhat slimmer than cocks. The onset of color does not appear until the second seasonal cycle after fledging, and for this reason young weaver cocks before the first seasonal molt are frequently sexed as hens.

General Behavior: Along with its impressive color, is has an equally impressive temperament. The Orange Weaver is about the most aggressive and destructive finch type bird you can own. It is not a social bird. It commands a large territory and will give its life in defense of its nests rather than abandon its young or surrender its territory. I say "nests", because it is markedly polygamous in the wild, commanding a harem of as many as fifty hens.

In captivity, pairing the weavers is haphazard. I do know that random pairing simply is ineffective. The cock must have a choice of several hens, and if the territory is large enough, he may claim them all, but only mate with one or two. He will mate with as many hens as he has space to build isolated nests. My own observation leads me to believe that a space at least 12'x12' will be required per nest. You must never place two weaver cocks in a cage together while in color, nor in any aviary which is smaller than double the above size. The weaver is a powerful and persistent defender, and can easily kill other birds, even other weavers, including his mates, if his territory is cramped. It will not be safe to keep other birds in a weaver aviary when the weavers are nesting, even other very aggressive birds. The weaver will overpower them all, or sacrifice his life attempting to eject anything that intrudes on any of his nests. The weavers cannot be bred in any cage.

The weavers are much more manageable during the offseason, and it is possible to keep 3-5 cocks and hens together in a spacious cage, maybe 4'x3'x3'. Even though I have done so, I do not recommend that weaver cocks be confined more than one in any cage. They are very unpredictable and savage when anything is wrong, like the food running low. There are very few acceptable cohabitants for weavers whether in an aviary or cage (and none when the weavers are in color): whydahs, Purple Grenadiers, Aurora and Melba finches, Twinspots, other weaver species (but be very careful here, when housing weaver cocks of different species together). When the weavers color in, the other birds must be removed, or they will be harried and attacked.

Nest Building: The most remarkable attribute of the weaver cocks, from which they take their name, is their nest building prowess. In this sense, the "weavers" with which we are familiar - the American sparrows - have lost their heritage, and make poor thumb-like nests of sticks and twigs. The African weavers all make densely woven and intricately knotted deep cup-like nests with a reinforced circular opening on one side. The nests are just wide enough for a single adult bird to occupy, but deep enough to hold the hen and chicks. The nest often contains more than one chamber, or a chamber and a mat-like roost. The nest may be built and reorganized several times before the cock is finished, and he may come back later and add on to it.

The best materials for nest building are fine strong fibrous grasses like raffia and fountain grass. But the weavers are marvelous with man-made materials like string, bread ties and thread, and will cannibalize just about anything that can be carried in their beaks and tied in a knot. I've seen them gather human hair they plucked off the carpet. I've never seen the weavers make a production out of lining their nests, but they do pick up feathers and fuzz from here and there and carry them to the nest. It would take a human a very long time to clip a weaver nest from its mooring, and the nest would be destroyed in the process. The nests are so durable and defensible that other birds preferentially seek out weaver nests in the wild instead of building their own. The weavers weave continuously during the offseason and well into the mating season, making as many nests as there are reasonable scattered places to make them. Weaver hens do not take part in the building of the nests, and mates are not selected until several nests are available to show.

There are some other aspects of nest building that are important. When available, the weaver will select only "green" grass and twigs with which to make the nest, and it's said that in the wild, any nest which dries out before it is completed will not be selected by a hen, and it is therefore abandoned. In captivity, weavers will weave and continue to complete nests with anything that is available. It also seems that the weavers are inclined to build nests over or very near water. I've not noted that the Bishop Weavers are strongly inclined this way, but the Village Weavers most certainly are.

Territoriality and Mating: The weaver cock's nest building prowess is an integral part of the weaver's claim on its territory, something like the scent a dog deposits on its turf, and it is also an essential part of the selection and mating process. A weaver will never accept a box or basket or any other kind of nest, and will if he is able, destroy or cannibalize it for his use. The nest of a weaver establishes a zone from which he will exclude all other birds on pain of death, and together, a ring of weaver nests establishes a strongly defended territory, upon which no other weaver cock will intrude. Other birds will be weakly tolerated in the territory as long as they do not infringe on the exclusion zone of a nest. When the weaver has several completed nests to show, he will select among his harem or court a weaver hen passing through, and escort the selected hen to several of his nests. If the hen selects a nest, she settles there, perhaps after adjusting the nest somewhat, and mating and laying take place within a few days there after. If the hen does not select a nest, the cock drives her away from his nests and selects another hen. The quality of the nest, however the birds judge quality, is an important part of the hen's selection criteria in the wild and in captivity. My most industrious nest builders build the best nests, and command the most attention from the hens. However, the common experience with the weavers is that they build and build and build but rarely mate.

After the nest is established, the cock takes no further part in the brooding and feeding of the nestlings. The cock will occasionally feed the fledglings. After fledging, the young do not return to the nest, and leave the cock's territory immediately after independence.

The mating dance is quite dramatic. I've seen it only a few times, because evidently the dance is done early in the morning before I generally arise. The cock puffs up his feathers to the size of a softball, and forcefully and rhythmically flapping his wings, "floats" in the air 6-8 feet horizontally across the sight of the hen who may or may not be airborne, all the while uttering an intimidating and savage screeching. He appears to be a very large and angry bird positioning for assault. It's the most impressive bird display I've ever seen. And you will never see it in any cage.

Feeding: The weavers are highly insectivorous both during the offseason and while nesting. It is more than a preference for insects - weavers maintained on seed will change color slowly, incompletely, exhibit feather abnormalities, or fail to change color seasonally at all. Young weavers who have inadequate protein will be underweight and sparsely feathered, and will mature into sickly birds. An insectivorous diet also increases the territorial and aggressive behavior of the weavers, and tends to bring on the mating cycle.

Adult birds in the offseason after molt can be maintained on seed, but this is not the preferred diet of the birds, and not recommended. Greens are also a large part of the birds' diet, and they will destroy any plants that are available to them, even hardy large bushes, either to eat or to use as nesting material.

Vocalizations: The weaver does not have anything approaching a song. The characteristic sounds are a lisping sound that rises to a high pitched and demonstrative screech when the birds are excited or angry. Cocks make a grinding gravel sound while bobbing up and down with their feet anchored both to announce territoriality and as a mating call. When immediately in front of an available hen, a weaving motion is added, in addition to puffing the feathers, as part of the initial courting ritual. The weavers have a few other vocalizations, like an endearing little "o-o o-E-o" that is usually a prelude to some other vocalization, but nothing melodious or pleasant. They are quite raucous during the day.

A Learning Experience: Keeping the weavers is a fascinating learning experience. After years and years of observing my weavers, I only last week observed something I had never noticed before. My weavers are free flying in the living room, except for an injured one I kept in a hospital cage in my bedroom. Night after night the injured weaver skitted back and forth in its cage after lights out, when it had seemed at rest just before dark. After several nights of this, I understood that something the weaver needed was not being given; something about the dark, about the cage. So I finally released the weaver into the room just before dark, and observed what it would do. It circled the room energetically. Searching, examining corners and roosts. It finally selected a most particular roost, the only space like it in the room. The characteristics of that space were that it was shielded on three sides, with something jutting out to perch on, and just large enough for the bird to occupy to the exclusion of other birds (if there were any others). The front and back were open, and one side partly open, enough for the weaver to have three escape paths if necessary.

After seeing that, I recalled that locating my free-flying weavers at dusk was impossible, and I had never ascertained where they went. This time, I carefully searched for them, and each weaver of the bunch had located, and one had built, a shelter of this kind, and settled there at night! There are not so many places like that in the room, and they had found them all. On reflection, I understand how vital it would be for the weaver to as strongly defend itself at night, as it defends its territory in the day: it is highly polygamous, and many lives and nests may depend upon his strength. That is why the unshielded weaver was restless after dark. You learn about the weavers in just this way, if you pay attention to what the bird tells you.

The Nature of the Bird: The weaver is a proud and temperamental bird, unusually perspicacious about its territory and environment, and indefatigably industrious. The territory of the weaver is not just space he lives in; the command of space, the weaving of nests, and his fearless defense of them, are part of the nature of the bird. The nature of the bird and the nature of his environment are one, and must not be severed. The weaver cannot be kept in any cage. I believe that weavers confined to cages will live short and unsatisfactory lives.

I own several other weaver species, though none I think so bold and beautiful as the Red Bishop (Orange) Weaver. I would recommend the weavers to those that have spacious and planted aviaries, with open water, but this is not a bird for a beginner. It is one bird whose nature is not suited to being captive, and it would be better if it were not.

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Last modified: February 21, 2005
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