Finn's weaver (''Ploceus megarhynchus''), also known as Finn's baya and yellow weaver is a

weaver bird Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called weavers, weaverbirds, weaver finches and bishops. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifica ...

species native to the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

valleys in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. Two subspecies are known; the

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

occurs in the Kumaon area and ''salimalii'' in the eastern

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...

. The species was described and given its binomial name by

Allan Octavian Hume Allan Octavian Hume, CB ICS (4 June 1829 – 31 July 1912) was a British civil servant, political reformer, ornithologist and botanist who worked in British India. He was the founder of the Indian National Congress. A notable ornithologist, Hum ...

based on a specimen obtained at Kaladhungi near

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

Etymology

The species was called "Eastern baya" by Oates in 1889 and called Finn's baya after

Frank Finn Frank Finn FZS, MBOU (1868 – 1 October 1932) was an English ornithologist. Finn was born in Maidstone and educated at Maidstone Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford. He went on a collecting expedition to East Africa in 1892, and ...

E. C. Stuart Baker Edward Charles Stuart Baker CIE OBE FZS FLS (1864 – 16 April 1944) was a British ornithologist and police officer. He catalogued the birds of India and produced the second edition of the ''Fauna of British India'' which included the introd ...

in 1925.

Distribution and habitat

Finn's weaver was first observed in

Shuklaphanta National Park Shuklaphanta National Park is a national park in the Terai of the Far-Western Region, Nepal, covering of open grasslands, forests, riverbeds and tropical wetlands at an elevation of . It is bounded by the Mahakali river in the west and south. A ...

in May 1996 and is a regular summer visitor.

Behaviour and ecology

Finn's weaver breeds from May to September.BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: ''Ploceus megarhynchus''
BirdLife International: ''Yellow Weaver''
/ref> It builds a nest on top of trees or in reeds. The nest is different in structure from the other weaver species found in India, but as in other weavers, woven from thin strips of leaves and reeds. This species lines the entire inside of the nest, unlike the other weavers, which line only the floor of the nest. Males strip the leaves of the nest tree, making the globular nests clearly visible.

References

Other references

* Abdulali, H. (1954) More notes on Finn's Baya (''Ploceus megarhynchus''). Journal of the Bombay Natural History 52(2&3): 599–601. * Abdulali, H. (1961) The nesting habits of the eastern race of Finn's Baya ''Ploceus megarhynchus salimalii'' (Abdulali). Journal of the Bombay Natural History 58(1): 269–270. * Ali, S. (1935) Mainly in quest of Finn's Baya. Indian Forester 41(6): 365–374. * Ali, S., Crook, J. H. (1959) Observations on Finn's Baya (''Ploceus megarhynchus'' Hume) rediscovered in the Kumaon terai, 1959.Journal of the Bombay Natural History 56(3): 457–483. * Ambedkar, V.C. (1968) Observations on the breeding biology of Finn's Baya (''Ploceus megarhynchus'' Hume) in the Kumaon Terai. Journal of the Bombay Natural History 65(3): 596–607. * Hart, W.C. (1937) Finn's Baya ''Ploceus megarhyncheus'' Hume). Indian Forester 43(1): 45–46. * O'Donell, H.V. (1916) The Eastern Baya ''Ploceus megarynchus'' nesting in the same tree as the Jungle Bee ''Apis indicus''. Journal of the Bombay Natural History 24(4): 821. * Rai, Y. M. (1979) Observations on Finn's Baya breeding near Meerut. ''

Newsletter for Birdwatchers ''Newsletter for Birdwatchers'' is an Indian periodical of ornithology and birdwatching founded in 1960 by Zafar Futehally, who edited it until 2003. It was initially mimeographed and distributed to a small number of subscribers each month. It is ...

'' 19(11): 11. * Rai, Y.M. (1979) Finn's Baya breeding at Meerut. ''Newsletter for Birdwatchers'' 19(7): 11. * Rai, Y.M. (1983) Hastinapur birds: Finn's Baya; Tawny Eagle; Crested Honey-Buzzard. ''Newsletter for Birdwatchers'' 23(7-8): 14–15. * Saha, S.S. (1967) The Finn's Baya ''Ploceus megarhynchus'' Hume ves: Passeriformes: Ploceidaeand its breeding colony near Calcutta. Proc. Zoological Society Calcutta 20: 181–185. * Saha, S.S. (1976) Occurrence of Finn's Baya (''Ploceus megarhynchus'' Hume) in Darrang District, Assam. Journal of the Bombay Natural History 73(3): 527–529.

External links

Finn's weaver
- Species text in Weaver Watch. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1314032

Finn's weaver Finn's weaver (''Ploceus megarhynchus''), also known as Finn's baya and yellow weaver is a weaver bird species native to the Ganges and Brahmaputra valleys in India and Nepal. Two subspecies are known; the nominate subspecies occurs in the Kumao ...

Birds of India Birds of Nepal Birds of Northeast India