Habitat

The Scaly Weaver (Sporopipes squamifrons) is considered by some as a near-endemic to the Kalahari biome, favoring Vachellia (formerly Acacia) savanna with grassy patches and plenty of bare ground. It also extends into more mesic broad-leaved woodland, provided there is a thornbush component, and the arid Karoo in the south of its range, particularly where there are small trees or bushes (53 Tarboton, W. R. (1980). Avian populations in Transvaal savanna. In: Johnson, D. N. (Editor). Proceedings of the 4th Pan-African Ornithological Congress, pp. 113-124. Southern African Ornithological Society, Johannesburg, South Africa. Close , 46 Herremans, M. (1997). Scalyfeathered Finch. In Harrison, J. A. et al. (Editors). The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 2:546-547. BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. Close ). The Scaly Weaver has adapted well to suburbia and is a common garden bird in many South African towns, especially where there are parks and other open spaces with thornbushes nearby. It is also common in rural subsistence farming areas where there are fallow fields, and overgrazing by livestock maintains the open, bare ground required for foraging.

Although its distribution is closely linked to Kalahari thornveld savanna, and described by some authors as an "Acacia [Vachellia] endemic" or "Kalahari-basin Acacia [Vachellia] specialist"(53 Tarboton, W. R. (1980). Avian populations in Transvaal savanna. In: Johnson, D. N. (Editor). Proceedings of the 4th Pan-African Ornithological Congress, pp. 113-124. Southern African Ornithological Society, Johannesburg, South Africa. Close , 46 Herremans, M. (1997). Scalyfeathered Finch. In Harrison, J. A. et al. (Editors). The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 2:546-547. BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. Close ), it has a broader tolerance compared to other Vachellia (formerly Acacia) specialists. The Scaly Weaver often ventures into mesic broad-leaved woodland, e.g., mopane Colophospermum mopane, with a thornbush component, e.g., central Zimbabwe and the Limpopo River valley in the north, and the Karoo biome in the south of its range (46 Herremans, M. (1997). Scalyfeathered Finch. In Harrison, J. A. et al. (Editors). The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 2:546-547. BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. Close ). It responds well to bush encroachment, provided there is some grass cover and bare ground. It is also found in bushes along dry watercourses, bushy areas near houses, subsistence agricultural areas subjected to overgrazing by livestock, and with fallow fields and coppicing bushes resulting from wood harvesting for fuel and construction purposes (54 Cade, T. J. (1965). Survival of the Scaly-feathered Finch Sporopipes squamifrons without drinking water. Ostrich 36:131-132. Close , 46 Herremans, M. (1997). Scalyfeathered Finch. In Harrison, J. A. et al. (Editors). The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Volume 2:546-547. BirdLife South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa. Close ). The species has also adapted well to suburbia, especially where there are parks and other open spaces with thornbushes nearby, and is a common garden bird in some South African towns. It is absent from the barren coastal deserts in Namibia and southwestern Angola. Although it drinks regularly when surface water is available, they are often a considerable distance away from surface water, relying on its diet and metabolic water to fulfill its water requirements (see Diet and Foraging: Drinking, Pellet-Casting, and Defecation).

The Scaly Weaver is resident.