THE SOCIABLE WEAVER, PART 3: BREEDING BIOLOGY AND MOULT

Abstract

Summary Maclean, G. L. 1973. The Sociable Weaver, Part 3: Breeding biology and moult. Ostrich 44: 219–240. Rain or some associated phenomenon is the principal Zeitgeber releasing breeding in the Sociable Weaver. The species does not breed in the absence of rain. The same nest chambers are used for breeding as are used for roosting throughout the year. The Sociable Weaver is monogamous. The clutch size varies from two to six eggs, larger clutches being more common after good rains than in relatively poorer breeding periods. Food supply may therefore be the proximate factor regulating clutch size. Replacement clutches are not necessarily smaller than first clutches. The mean clutch size within a breeding period decreases with an apparent decrease in food supply. The parents share parental duties about equally. Up to four successive broods may be raised in a single breeding period; a breeding period may last up to nine months and may occur at any time of the year according to the somewhat erratic rainfall wh...