Family: The Manyar Weaver (Ploceus manyar) is a species of weaver bird of the family Ploceidae in the genus Ploceus.
Other Names: The bird is also known by several names, including; streaked weaverbird, streaked weaver, and striated weaver bird.
Identification: The breeding male has a black face and throat, a golden crown, and white underparts with black breast stripes. It differs from the Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus) in having the breast fulvous boldly streaked with black in both sexes and in the breeding as well as non-breeding plumage of the male. Flocks in swampy, tall grass areas. Different from other Asian weavers, the non-breeding male and female have a buff eyebrow, a drab appearance, and mildly stained breasts. Below, the juvenile has a buffy color with faint striping.
Habitats: The Manyar Weaver is found near marshes, rice paddies, and reedbeds. It frequently coexists alongside bulrushes and elephant grass. Except that it is more confined to the vast seas of elephant- and other tall coarse grass, and to bulrushes and tanks, this weaver does not differ appreciably in habits from the Baya Weaver. Both species, but especially the last, are largely kept as pets. They are apt at learning and can be readily trained to perform several tricks, such as muzzle-loading and firing off a toy cannon, retrieving a ring dropped into a well before it reaches the water, stringing beads, and others requiring a high degree of skill.
Nesting and Breeding: The Manyar Weaver is known to be monogamous, although there have been instances of polygyny noted. With 15–50 nests in a single location, it is colonial. The season ranges, according to local conditions of humidity and rainfall, between February and September. The nests, built in smaller colonies, are similar to those of the Baya but have shorter entrance tubes and, on the whole, are more loosely and roughly woven.
The nest is built on elephant grass, bulrushes, or reeds above the water’s surface, mangrove trees, palm trees, or vegetation hanging from the sides of irrigation wells. They are suspended from bulrushes, giant grass, and usually swampy ground. Unlike the Baya, the nest’s upper end is wider than that of that species because it is directly attached to multiple grass blades rather than via a long, thin suspension. Pellets of mud are stuck near the egg chamber in these nests also, and the breeding biology of the two species is very similar in all other respects. It is common practice to add little lumps of clay or mud to the sides of the nest opening. It might decorate the nest with yellow acacia flowers. Wasps can be protected by placing nests close by.
Eggs and Incubations: The full clutch consists of two to four eggs, white in color and unmarked. It can breed next to nests of tricolored Mannikin or in mixed colonies with black-breasted weavers (or Bengal weavers). The average size of the eggs is 20.3 x 14.3 mm. Both sexes feed the chicks. The female takes care of the majority of the nestlings’ feeding and incubation. The incubation initially shared by the male; after that, the female did it alone for 15–17 days. However, the male contributes once nestlings reach about 10 days of age; the nestling period is approximately 17–18 days.
Distribution: Patchily more or less throughout the Indian empire in humid or swampy tracts covered with tall grass and bulrushes, as in the Himalaya. Within our limits, three races are recognized on details of coloration, viz., the N.-W. Indian race striatus, the North India-Assam-Uurma race pegurnsis, and the South Indian clavicles. Manyar weaver is found in South Asia and Southeast Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The bird is also introduced in Qatar, Dubai, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Diet: The primary food source consists of seeds, particularly those picked from grasses, rice, wheat, millet, and sorghum. It seriously damages rice crops in certain areas. Insects, particularly grasshoppers, as well as caterpillars, beetles, spiders, and tiny snails, are the primary food sources for nestlings. In flocks, the Manyar Weaver frequently feeds alongside other weavers. In the hottest months, it builds daytime roosts close to its feeding areas. In reedbeds and sugar cane, it establishes group roosts during the non-breeding season.
Similar Species: These birds resemble the Baya weaver in appearance but are less common. Their underparts are streaked.
Predators: Snakes and crows are two predators of nests. Both grazing animals and reed harvesters damage a lot of nests in reedbeds.
Status: The population is stable, hence least concerned on the IUCN list.
Taxonomy: The Manyar Weaver bird was first described by American ornithologist Thomas Horsefield in 1821. Moreover, Jerdon had given this name to the Bengal Weaver in 1840, but he later realized it should have been awarded to this species.
Size: Manyar Weaver size is about the Sparrow.
Meaning of Name: The Manja is the manyar Tamil (Sri Lankan) term for different weaverbirds.
Races: The following races exist:.
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m. manyar: It is found in Java, Bawean, and Bali Islands.
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m. flaviceps: Found in Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
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m. peguensis: Found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka Myanmar, China and Laos
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m. williamsoni: Found in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam
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The bird is also known by several names, including; streaked weaverbird, Manyar weaver, streaked weaver, streaked weaver bird, and striated weaver bird. Photo Credit: Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan