The sparrow-weavers (''Plocepasser'') are a genus of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Ploceidae 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 ...

(weavers), but some taxonomic authorities place them in the family

Passeridae Old World sparrows are a group of small passerine birds forming the family Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, a name also used for a particular genus of the family, '' Passer''. They are distinct from both the New World sparrows, ...

(Old World sparrows).

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus ''Plocepasser'' contains the following species:

Phylogeny

Based on recent DNA-analysis (which only included ''P. mahali''), the genus ''Plocepasser'' belongs to the group of sparrow weavers (subfamily Plocepasserinae), and is most related to the clade that consists of '' Philetairus socius'' and the genus ''

Pseudonigrita ''Pseudonigrita'' is a genus of sparrow-like birds in the weaverbird family. Extant Species It contains two species, which are both found in eastern Africa: Taxonomy French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte described the grey-capped soci ...

''. This clade is

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

to the most basic genus of the subfamily, '' Sporopipes''. Provided that genera are correct clades, the following tree expresses current insights.

References

External links

* * Ploceidae Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Ploceidae-stub