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Olive-naped Weaver
Ploceus brachypterus
8.47912, -13.2573
Field Notes
Description:
Presented here is female of Olive-naped Weaver (previously known as Black-necked weaver, P. nigricollis brachypterus). This weaver is sparrow sized bird, bright yellow-orange below, and yellow-greenish above. It sports a black mask extending behind its pale eyes. There is no black bib, but there are orange blotches on cheeks. The bill is black. The male can be seen on one of previous spottings from Nigeria, here: https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1348346542
Habitat:
This spotting was another interesting one spotted from my window of my residence in Freetown. The bird was perched in mango tree, in a backyard garden of a neighbouring house. We are in a totally urban part of the city if you can really find a totally urban patch around... A very hilly and wooded area, where shackles mix freely with urban gardens and modern constructions, at the feet of Western Area National Park.
Notes:
This is a second time I have to change the ID on this spotting, as I had another discussion with fellow birdwatchers from African Bird Club. At the same time, I rediscovered my previous spotting of the same species, three years ago in Nigeria - and the very same discussion with same birders then... wish my memory was a bit better, it would spare me some embarrassment :-D. So in short, this species was previously known as a subspecies (western) of Black-necked weaver, or Ploceus nigricollis brachypterus. Some time ago, the subspecies was split and accorded a species status, and is now known as Olive-naped weaver, P. brachypterus. However, in many online ressources, the change is still not recorded, and most often (Ebird, Avibase, Oiseux.net, Wikipedia etc), this weaver is counted as subspecies. the distribution range of this species (recognized as such) can be seen here, on IUCN map: https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=Ploceus%20brachypterus&searchT…
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