Plumages, Molts, and Structure

Juvenile

The Juvenile plumage has not been described.

Definitive Basic

Female has forehead, crown, and back of neck yellowish-brown; a yellowish-white eyebrow; back pale brown with dark centers to the feathers of the mantle; underparts white washed with pale yellow on the crop, cheeks, and sides of neck; whitish plumage shaded with olive on the ear-coverts and with isabelline on the flanks and under tail-coverts. Upper tail-coverts and tail yellowish-brown, with the feathers of the latter with yellow edges; wings blackish brown with pale yellowish edges to the feathers and the least coverts yellowish brown; quills with broad bright pale yellow inner edges; under wing-coverts buff, slightly washed with yellow (4 Shelley, G. E. (1905). The Birds of Africa Comprising All the Species which Occur in the Ethiopian Region. Vol. 4. R. H. Porter, London. Close ).

Male not described.

Definitive Alternate

Female probably similar to Definitive Basic.

Male has bright yellow body; the back is yellow with a tinge of olive-green. The forehead, crown, face and throat are chestnut orange. The primaries are bright yellow with an olive shade on the outer webs; the secondaries are bright yellow, with a slightly darker shade on the outer web. The feather shafts of the wing feathers are light yellow. The tail is yellow (3 Hartlaub, G. (1891). Vierter Beitrag zur Ornithologie der östlich-äquatorialen Länder und der östlichen Küstengebiete Afrikas. Abhandlungen der Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen 12:1-46. Close ).

Molt has not been described, but is likely to follow the general pattern of molt in weavers which generally have a complete post-juvenile molt (5 Craig, A. (1983). Moult in southern African passerine birds: a review. Ostrich 54: 220-237. Close ). Ruvu Weaver males may retain their bright yellow plumage all year as is the case for some closely related weavers restricted to equatorial regions, such as the Golden Palm Weaver (Ploceus bojeri). Alternatively, males may have two seasonal plumage changes, with an eclipse plumage resembling the females, as occurs in the closely related Southern Brown-throated Weaver (Ploceus xanthopterus) (6 Craig, A. J. F. K. (2010). Family Ploceidae (weavers). In Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 15: Weavers to New World Warblers (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D. A. Christie, Editors), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. pp. 74–197. Close ).

Iris

Dark brown in both males and females (3 Hartlaub, G. (1891). Vierter Beitrag zur Ornithologie der östlich-äquatorialen Länder und der östlichen Küstengebiete Afrikas. Abhandlungen der Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen 12:1-46. Close ).

Bill

Black in male (3 Hartlaub, G. (1891). Vierter Beitrag zur Ornithologie der östlich-äquatorialen Länder und der östlichen Küstengebiete Afrikas. Abhandlungen der Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen 12:1-46. Close ), and in females, the maxilla is dark brown and the mandible is horn-colored (4 Shelley, G. E. (1905). The Birds of Africa Comprising All the Species which Occur in the Ethiopian Region. Vol. 4. R. H. Porter, London. Close ).

Tarsi and Feet

Overall pale pinkish in both sexes; described as pale by Hartlaub (3 Hartlaub, G. (1891). Vierter Beitrag zur Ornithologie der östlich-äquatorialen Länder und der östlichen Küstengebiete Afrikas. Abhandlungen der Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen 12:1-46. Close ).

Overall length 12 cm (3 Hartlaub, G. (1891). Vierter Beitrag zur Ornithologie der östlich-äquatorialen Länder und der östlichen Küstengebiete Afrikas. Abhandlungen der Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen 12:1-46. Close ).

The only known measurements are of two specimens. Measurements for the holotype, an adult male, were: wing length 70 mm, tail length 42 mm, bill length 14 mm, tarsus length 21 mm, length 124 mm (3 Hartlaub, G. (1891). Vierter Beitrag zur Ornithologie der östlich-äquatorialen Länder und der östlichen Küstengebiete Afrikas. Abhandlungen der Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen 12:1-46. Close ). Wing length of a female specimen was about 60 mm (2.35 inches) (4 Shelley, G. E. (1905). The Birds of Africa Comprising All the Species which Occur in the Ethiopian Region. Vol. 4. R. H. Porter, London. Close ).