Abstract
that, in England, had narrow application, but with the spread of Englishspeaking people across the globe, has acquired a much broader one, encompassing birds whose imagined resemblance to previously familiar species does not necessarily imply any close taxonomic relationship between them. Thus, while American and European Robins are both thrushes, if very different ones, the "Robins" of Australia and New Zealand are Old World flycatchers (which, in turn, have nothing to do with New World flycatchers). The British Blackbird is a thrush (in the same genus as the American Robin). New World Blackbirds are Icterids, in the same family as New World orioles (entirely different from Old World ones) and Meadow Larks (which are not larks).Lazuli, Indigo, Painted, and Varied Buntings, so beloved by U.S. birders, are members of the entirely New World cardinal grobsbeak subfamily, while the buntings of Europe, Asia and Africa are close relatives of the many New World sparrows, and belong in a different subfamiliy of the huge and ill-defined family Emberizidae. On the other hand, Old World sparrows, the most familiar being the generally despised House Sparrow, are members of the entirely Old World weaver family, the Ploceidae.
If we thus find that some sparrows are weavers, and some weavers are sparrows, it need not necessarily follow that there are also sparrowweavers, but such, in fact, is the case.
The four sparrow-weavers comprise the genus Plocepasser (which translates from the Latin as "weaversparrow"). Entirely African, this genus, in most classification systems, is the third most primitive in the by Josef Lindholm, III Keeper II/Birds
Fort Worth Zoological Park Fort Worth, Texas
''£arrow" like "Robin" "Black- bird;' or "Bunting;' is a name
that, in England, had narrow application, but with the spread of Englishspeaking people across the globe, has acquired a much broader one, encompassing birds whose imagined resemblance to previously familiar species does not necessarily imply any close taxonomic relationship between them. Thus, while American and European Robins are both thrushes, if very different ones, the "Robins" of Australia and New Zealand are Old World flycatchers (which, in turn, have nothing to do with New World flycatchers). The British Blackbird is a thrush (in the same genus as the American Robin). New World Blackbirds are Icterids, in the same family as New World orioles (entirely different from Old World ones) and Meadow Larks (which are not larks).
Lazuli, Indigo, Painted, and Varied Buntings, so beloved by U.S. birders, are members of the entirely New World cardinal grobsbeak subfamily, while the buntings of Europe, Asia and Africa are close relatives of the many New World sparrows, and belong in a different subfamiliy of the huge and ill-defined family Emberizidae. On the other hand, Old World sparrows, the most familiar being the generally despised House Sparrow, are members of the entirely Old World weaver family, the Ploceidae.
If we thus find that some sparrows are weavers, and some weavers are sparrows, it need not necessarily follow that there are also sparrowweavers, but such, in fact, is the case.
The four sparrow-weavers comprise the genus Plocepasser (which translates from the Latin as "weaversparrow"). Entirely African, this genus, in most classification systems, is the third most primitive in the weaver family (Ploceidae). The first two are the Buffalo Weavers Bubalornis and Dinemellia, which I have covered in a previous article (Lindholm, 1994). Two of the sparrowweavers have restricted ecologies; P. donaldsoni found only in the deserts of bordering Ethiopia and Kenya, and P. rufoscapulatus confined to the Bracbystegia highlands of Angola, Zambia, Malawi and Botswana (Clements, 1978). I am not surprised that I found no records of either species in captivity, but had expected to find more than I did for Plocepasser superc i l i osus, the Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver, which has a vast African range, from the Atlantic to western Ethiopia, south to Zaire. All I discovered was that this bird had "been imported from Abyssinia" to England, according to the early Ploceid specialst W. Shore-Baily 0923). The otherwise complete absence of literary references to this species in captivity is certainly partially due to the fact that it is, for all practical purposes, a seven inch long sparrow without any striking features. Furthermore, though not rare, it is a "very silent and unobtrusive bird, found in small parties or pairs in bush and savannah woodland" (Williams & Arlott, 1980). At any rate, these are moot points, since, like all other Ploceids which occur in Ghana, this species is listed in CITES Appendix III, and is thus banned from commercial import to the U.S. under the provisions of the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, which became effective in September 1993.
The fourth species in Plocepasser, P. mab ali, the White-browed Sparrow-weaver, though absent from the Northwest, is found almost everywhere else in Sub-Saharan Africa, in dry, open country. As might be weaver family (Ploceidae). The first two are the Buffalo Weavers Bubalornis and Dinemellia, which I have covered in a previous article (Lindholm, 1994). Two of the sparrowweavers have restricted ecologies; P. donaldsoni found only in the deserts of bordering Ethiopia and Kenya, and P. rufoscapulatus confined to the Bracbystegia highlands of Angola, Zambia, Malawi and Botswana (Clements, 1978). I am not surprised that I found no records of either species in captivity, but had expected to find more than I did for Plocepasser superc i l i osus, the Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver, which has a vast African range, from the Atlantic to western Ethiopia, south to Zaire. All I discovered was that this bird had "been imported from Abyssinia" to England, according to the early Ploceid specialst W. Shore-Baily 0923). The otherwise complete absence of literary references to this species in captivity is certainly partially due to the fact that it is, for all practical purposes, a seven inch long sparrow without any striking features. Furthermore, though not rare, it is a "very silent and unobtrusive bird, found in small parties or pairs in bush and savannah woodland" (Williams & Arlott, 1980). At any rate, these are moot points, since, like all other Ploceids which occur in Ghana, this species is listed in CITES Appendix III, and is thus banned from commercial import to the U.S. under the provisions of the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992, which became effective in September 1993.
The fourth species in Plocepasser, P. mab ali, the White-browed Sparrow-weaver, though absent from the Northwest, is found almost everywhere else in Sexpected, there are several subspecies. From illustrations in, respectively, Williams & Arlott 0980) and
ewman 0983), it appears that at least the Northeastern and Southern ones are ve1y distinct. Both are quietly attractive, with highly contrasting light and dark plumage.
Though exported at least as early as 1876, when specimens arrived at the Zoologischer Garten Berlin (Rutgers et al., 1977), this has never been a commonly available bird. Again, it is formidably large for a "finch;' approaching seven inches. Of course, a major drawback is its reputation for antisocial behavior; according to Rutgers et al. 0977), "The males are very aggressive, especially in the spring, and several pairs can be kept together only in a very large aviary."
It is again W. Shore-Baily 0923), a prolific contributor to the Auicultural Magazine, to whom we must turn for any detailed account of the Whitebrewed Sparrow-weaver in captivity. Mr. Shore-Baily, who, from 1914 through 1924, achieved the first British breedings of five species of weavers (Coles, 1987), wrote the following, "The Mahall Weaver (Plocezpasser[sic] mab ali) is rarely imported. I have only twice met with it. Once, at a dealer's shop, I saw a cage of about two dozen, but as he was asking £5 per pair I was not tempted to purchase; and the other occasion was when I secured my present bird. It was in with a mixed crowd of South African Weavers and Whydahs, and was the only one of its kind .... This is the only Weaver I know that has a really good singing voice. It sings as loudly as a Thrush. My bird, presumably a cock, has built two nests. These were nearly as· large as a football, and much the same shape, with a hole in the side and an exit at the back. Every sort of material it could Jay its beak on was used, and the structure was quite...