Northern Masked Weaver

Ploceus taeniopterus

Other Pics: Female Northern Masked Weaver

Other Names

    Tisserin du Nil   Goldmantelweber         Tessitore mascherato settentrionale

World: Africa: Sudan, NE Zaire, SW Ethiopia, northern Uganda and Kenya.

Kenya: Restricted to Lake Baringo, the swamp to the N of Lake Bogoria and Lake Turkana.

As it says above this is a bird with a very limited distribution and you will normally only ever see it at Lake Baringo (which is where this photograph was taken). It is gregarious, nesting in colonies of up to 100 pairs, typically this is at the waters edge and is generally during or close to the rains. Interestingly it seems as though this may be a comparative newcomer to the Baringo/Bogoria region as there are no early records for this region. It can be distinguished from the similar Vitelline Masked Weaver from the shape of the black facial mask. In the Northern Masked Weaver this extends down into the upper breast and above the eye. In the Vitelline Masked Weaver the black shows a clear cut off at the chin and doesn't extend above the eye.