Fox's weaver
Fox's weaver (Ploceus spekeoides) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Uganda.
| Fox's weaver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Specimen in Nairobi National Museum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ploceidae |
| Genus: | Ploceus |
| Species: | P. spekeoides |
| Binomial name | |
| Ploceus spekeoides C. H. B. Grant & Mackworth-Praed, 1947 | |
Its natural habitats are moist savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.
A specimen was collected in 1913 from Teso in central Uganda. It was gifted to the British Museum of Natural History in 1923 and identified as a distinct species closely related to Ploceus spekei by C.H.B. Grant and Mackworth-Praed in 1947. The specimen collector was recorded as being T.V. Fox[2] however some have suggested that it referred to Harold Munro Fox. There was however a Thomas Vernon Fox (20 November 1878 - 13 March 1910) in the Ugandan administrative services between 1908-1918 who collected specimens of birds from the region.[3]
References
- BirdLife International (2017). "Ploceus spekeoides". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22718933A118849332. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22718933A118849332.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- Grant, C.H.B.; Mackworth-Praed, C.W. (1947). "A new species of weaver from Uganda". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 68: 7-https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40587771.
- Coote, J.M. (September 1956). "The Kivu Mission, 1919–10". The Uganda Journal. 20 (2): 108.