Read all about the white-browed sparrow-weaver in this week’s bird of the week
They forage on the ground near nesting trees for insects and seeds, moving by walking and running in bounds. When disturbed, they fly into trees.
The white-browed sparrow-weaver is a very common resident widespread in South Africa, but absent from the Western and Southern Cape and moister eastern regions.
They like acacia savanna, bushy hillsides, farmyards with clumps of trees in open grassland.
These weavers are usually in pairs or small groups of up to nine birds with one dominant male and female, the rest being helpers. They forage on the ground near nesting trees for insects and seeds, moving by walking and running in bounds. When disturbed, they fly into trees.
They are highly vocal with loud jumbled songs cheeoop – preeoop – chop also a harsh chik chik alarm call.
Breeding takes place from May to February, or opportunistically after rain, with up to four broods per season. The nest is a bulky untidy oval of grass stems forming a chamber and lined with soft grass, feathers and woolly material with two entrances.
Built two to eight metres above ground in the outer branches of a tree, one to three speckled white or pinkish eggs are laid.
Incubation is 14 days and a nestling period of 21 to 23 days, when they are fed by the mother and female members of the group.
The tribal name is Mogale and in Afrikaans die koringvoel.
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