Teveta Golden Weaver

No matter where you are, you get used to seeing native birds. I can name off a bunch of birds that I see living in the wild around my house and at my workplace. Sometimes, you forget to consider that a native bird to you is something exotic to someone else.

It’s no secret that I work at a zoo. I get to work with incredible animals and one of them is the little yellow bird featured in this post: the Teveta Golden Weaver. They’re super cute and pretty smart. We have a bunch in the aviary that I care for at my zoo. So much that not all of them have names and you can’t tell them a part. These little birds are native to Africa. They’re named ‘weaver’ because they weave grasses together to make their nests, and these aren’t just flat nests like you see on TV. Their nests are a little like beehives, all encompassing with only one entrance. The nest is important not only because it houses the eggs, but also for deciding who the females mate with. A male with better nest making skills is going to be the one the female chooses.

Telling the difference between males and females is quite simple. Although both have this bright yellow color, the males have an orange tint upon their head (like the one featured in this post), while the females have a browner color leaving streaks in their feathers.

Like other songbirds, Teveta Golden Weavers like their seeds and protein. They live in flocks and sometimes with other types of weavers. They live in a range of habitats from savannahs to woodlands or swamps and shrublands. Their lifespan is about 10 years in the wild, longer in captivity. Their eggs are even a dark, olive color. Females can lay 2-3 per clutch.

This little bird might be considered exotic where I’m from, but they’re pretty common in Africa and not considered endangered or threatened. Even so, the next time you go to the zoo, keep on the lookout for these little cuties.