Behaviour
Like most weavers, it is a gregarious bird which forages on the ground for insects, especially beetles and butterflies, fruits, and seeds, often in company with starlings.
Foraging is often done in groups of 3–6 birds. It has various calls and the sound is sometimes parrot-like: “skwieeer”, “kiiyerr”, a ringing and repetitious “tew”. In addition, variable sounds such as chuckles and whistles can be heard at breeding and roosting sites. The sounds are slow and drawn out. They also make trills: “tsu-weely-weely-wair”. They often perch in trees and hang upside-down and can be very noisy. Breeding and roosting is done in groups and they can be defensive against intruders, usually by making noise. Altercations are rarely fatal and usually vocal. Males display to females by spreading their wings to show their white wing-patches and red-orange tail-coverts.
