CreatureData

Speke's weaver

Ploceus spekei (Heuglin, 1861)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The speke's weaver (Ploceus spekei) is a species in the family Ploceidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 32.1 g to 38.3 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Speke's weaver (Ploceus spekei)
Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the speke's weaver

Weight
32.1 g – 38.3 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
1.7 – 1.9src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the speke's weaver live?

Not recorded

What is the speke's weaver?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Speke's weaver (Ploceus spekei) is a familiar East African songbird.

The eyes are pale and the bill is on the large side for a weaver. Unlike many weavers, it has the same plumage all year. The adult male is yellow with black throat (edged rusty), face, and bill, and variable black mottling on the back. The adult female's upperparts are dull olive-gray with dusky brown streaks; the underparts are pale yellow, whiter on the belly and grayer on the flanks. The juvenile is similar but duller.

The song is variable; one version is transcribed as "pew…pew…tew, chinkichi-chewchew-skerinkitsitew". Calls include harsh chatter at the nest and a sharp "tseep!"

This species nests in colonies or occasionally singly. The nest, often woven in an acacia, is spherical with a short entrance tube opening sideways or downward. Many grass stems project sloppily, sometimes obscuring the shape. It nests in both the short rainy season and the middle of the long rainy season. Typical clutches comprise four eggs, which are unmarked deep blue, somewhat pointed at both ends, 24 to 26 mm long and 15 to 17 mm wide.

Speke's weaver is found in northern and eastern Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya (mostly the central highlands), and north-eastern Tanzania. It inhabits savanna, bush, agricultural land, and towns. In parts of its range it is common, notably the densely populated area of Nairobi and environs, where it visits bird feeders.

This bird was named in honor of John Speke.

From the Wikipedia article “Speke's weaver” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Speke%27s_weaver&oldid=1349009922), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the speke's weaver endangered?

The speke's weaver is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the speke's weaver classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyPloceidae
  6. genusPloceus
  7. SpeciesPloceus spekei (Heuglin, 1861)

Synonyms Hyphantornis spekei, Malimbus spekei

Other names and names in other languages (30)
  • SPWEEnglish
  • teixidor de SpekeCatalan
  • snovač SpekeůvCzech
  • gwehydd mygydog SpekeWelsh
  • SomalivæverDanish
  • SomaliweberGerman
  • Somali-WeberGerman
  • spekea teksbirdoEsperanto
  • Tejedor de SpekeSpanish
  • suomuselkäkutojaFinnish
  • Malimbe de SpekeFrench
  • Tisserin de SpekeFrench
  • zlatnokapa pletiljaCroatian
  • Tessitore di SpekeItalian
  • カオグロウロコハタオリJapanese
  • somalinis audėjasLithuanian
  • Spekes WeverDutch
  • akasieveverNorwegian
  • wikłacz łuskowanyPolish
  • tecelão-somaliPortuguese
  • tecelão-de-spekePortuguese
  • Сомалийский ткачRussian
  • pletiarka škvrnitochrbtáSlovak
  • Spekei tekstor tkaljaSerbian
  • Spekes vävareSwedish
  • höglandsvävareSwedish
  • Speke DokumacısıTurkish
  • ткачик сомалійськийUkrainian
  • 斯氏织雀Chinese
  • 斯氏織布鳥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the speke's weaver

Other species in the same genus Ploceus.

LC, Least Concern
Baya weaver (Ploceus philippinus)

Baya weaver

Ploceus philippinus

Ploceidae

CompareSpeke's weaver vs Village weaverSpeke's weaver vs Baya weaverSpeke's weaver vs Streaked weaverSpeke's weaver vs Cape weaver

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the speke's weaver?

An adult speke's weaver weighs 32.1 g – 38.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the speke's weaver endangered?

The speke's weaver is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the speke's weaver?

The speke's weaver (Ploceus spekei) belongs to the family Ploceidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Speke's weaver (Ploceus spekei). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spekes-weaver

MLA

“Speke's weaver (Ploceus spekei).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spekes-weaver.

BibTeX
@misc{spekes_weaver_2026,
  title = {Speke's weaver (Ploceus spekei)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spekes-weaver},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}