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

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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

(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 The sociable weaver (''Philetairus socius'') is a species of bird in the weaver family, endemic to Southern Africa. It is the only species in its genus ''Philetairus''. It is found in South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana, but its range is cente ...

'' 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-capp ...

''. This clade is

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

to the most basic genus of the subfamily, ''

Sporopipes ''Sporopipes'' is a genus of bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a h ...

''. Provided that genera are correct clades, the following tree expresses current insights.

References

External links

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