Village Weaver
Ploceus cucullatus (Statius Muller, 1776)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus), also known as the spotted-backed weaver or black-headed weaver (the latter leading to easy confusion with P. melanocephalus), is a bird species in the family Ploceidae found in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been introduced to Portugal and Venezuela as well as to the islands of Hispaniola, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Mauritius and Réunion.
This often abundant species occurs in a wide range of open or semi-open habitats, including woodlands and human habitation, and frequently forms large noisy colonies in towns, villages, and hotel grounds. This weaver builds a large coarsely woven nest made of grass and leaf strips with a downward-facing entrance, which is suspended from a branch in a tree. Two or three eggs are laid. Village weavers are colonial breeders, so many nests may hang from one tree.
Village weavers feed principally on seeds and grain, and can be a crop pest, but readily take insects, especially when feeding young, which partially redresses the damage to agriculture. The calls of this bird include harsh buzzes and chattering.
Wikipedia contributors, Village weaver; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:08:18.024632+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ploceus cucullatus (Statius Muller, 1776)
- Name authority
- (Statius Muller, 1776)
- Common name
- Village Weaver
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Ploceus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPloceidae Sundevall, 1836
- genusPloceus Cuvier, 1816
- speciesPloceus cucullatus (Statius Muller, 1776)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ploceus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Maxwell's Black WeaverPloceus albinucha (Bocage, 1876) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Strange WeaverPloceus alienus (Sharpe, 1902) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bar-winged WeaverPloceus angolensis (Bocage, 1878) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bates's WeaverPloceus batesi (Sharpe, 1908) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dark-backed WeaverPloceus bicolor Vieillot, 1819 | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cape WeaverPloceus capensis (Linnaeus, 1766) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Taveta WeaverPloceus castaneiceps (Sharpe, 1890) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ploceus flavipes (Chapin, 1916) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Giant WeaverPloceus grandis (G. R. Gray, 1844) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Asian Golden WeaverPloceus hypoxanthus (Sparrman, 1788) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lesser Masked WeaverPloceus intermedius Rüppell, 1845 | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little WeaverPloceus luteolus (Lichtenstein, 1823) | PloceidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=562296 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4KH89. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.