Buffalo Weaver

(Dinemellia dinemelli)

Seneca Park Zoo is home to two white-headed buffalo weavers. They reside in the aviary, which can be found inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

Animal Facts

Flocks and family groups can sometimes include starlings.

Other bird species, such as the African pygmy falcon, often prefer to use weaver nests instead of building their own.

Weavers typically live in small flocks and build multiple nests, and it is common to see a large number of nests in a single tree.

They are noisy and conspicuous when climbing about in trees and are reminiscent of parrots with their acrobatic maneuvers and habit of hanging upside down.

Nests may have several rooms, with a soft inner lining and thorny branches on the outside to help guard them from predators.

Diet

Buffalo weavers are omnivorous, foraging for fruits, seeds and invertebrates such as beetles and butterflies.

Status in The Wild

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status

The range of buffalo weavers extends throughout eastern Africa, from Tanzania to Somalia.

They prefer savanna and shrubland habitat, using grass and thorny branches to weave elaborate nests in trees. Potential threats for this species are habitat loss and fragmentation.