Cape weaver
Ploceus capensis
Bird
The Cape weaver (Ploceus capensis) is a stocky, 17 cm, yellow-and-orange weaver bird endemic to South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini, where it inhabits open grassland, fynbos, coastal thicket, and farmland near water. It is omnivorous, feeding on seeds, fruit, nectar, and insects. It functions as a primary pollinator of aloes across its range and is the main native pollinator of Strelitzia reginae (bird-of-paradise): birds perch on the spathe, triggering the third petal to open and deposit pollen on their feet as they probe for nectar. In gardens, it is most likely to appear where aloes, red-hot pokers, or bird-of-paradise are in bloom.
Conservation
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN; the species is common across its southern African range and is not globally threatened.
Plants in the catalog
Plants this species pollinates · 1
The main native pollinator of Strelitzia reginae: the bird's weight on the perch-petal springs it open and dusts pollen onto its feet.
Nectar plants · 3
Cape weavers are among the major bird pollinators of aloes across their South African range, working the spikes alongside the sunbirds.
Cape weavers are among the major bird pollinators of aloes across their South African range.
A generalist nectarivore overlapping the range of red-hot pokers; visitation is likely but not species-documented for K. uvaria.
Range
Endemic to southern Africa: South Africa (from the Northern Cape south to the Cape of Good Hope and east to KwaZulu-Natal and inland toward Bloemfontein), Lesotho, and Eswatini. Absent from the Kalahari Desert and dense forest. Stronghold is the Western Cape.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife record. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed its taxonomy, range, conservation, host plants, foraging, and habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Cape weaver (Ploceus capensis). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/cape-weaver
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
Cape weaver - Wikipedia
Southern-African endemism, omnivorous diet, status as a major aloe pollinator, nesting, and garden relevance.
Ploceus capensis - GBIF
Accepted taxonomy and southern-African occurrence records.