Speke's Weaver
Ploceus spekei (Heuglin, 1861)
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
Speke's weaver (Ploceus spekei) is a familiar East African songbird. The eyes are pale and the bill is on the large side for a weaver. Unlike many weavers, it has the same plumage all year. The adult male is yellow with black throat (edged rusty), face, and bill, and variable black mottling on the back. The adult female's upperparts are dull olive-gray with dusky brown streaks; the underparts are pale yellow, whiter on the belly and grayer on the flanks. The juvenile is similar but duller. The song is variable; one version is transcribed as "pew…pew…tew, chinkichi-chewchew-skerinkitsitew". Calls include harsh chatter at the nest and a sharp "tseep!" This species nests in colonies or occasionally singly. The nest, often woven in an acacia, is spherical with a short entrance tube opening sideways or downward. Many grass stems project sloppily, sometimes obscuring the shape. It nests in both the short rainy season and the middle of the long rainy season.
Wikipedia contributors, Speke's weaver; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:08:01.816544+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ploceus spekei (Heuglin, 1861)
- Name authority
- (Heuglin, 1861)
- Common name
- Speke's 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 spekei (Heuglin, 1861)
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=562329 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:4KH9F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.