Kilombero weaver, Ploceus burnieri, photographed at Kilombero River, Southern Tanzania (Africa).
Image: Dan Logen, 9 January 2010 [velociraptorize].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, ISO 500, f/7.1, 1/1600 sec
Question: This African mystery bird species is endemic to a small area in southern Tanzania. Can you identify it?
Response: This is an adult male Kilombero weaver, Ploceus burnieri. This species was only discovered in 1986 because it has a very patchy and restricted distribution within a very small range in the Kilombero river floodplain in south-central Tanzania. (Now that you know where it is found, you also know how it got its common name.)
The northern masked-weaver, P. taeniopterus, is similar in appearance but is not as bright golden-yellow as the Kilombero weaver and has more chestnut around its black mask.
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and (mostly) appreciative international audience here at The Guardian, feel free to contact me to learn more.
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