About Pseudonigrita arnaudi (Bonaparte, 1850)
The grey-capped social weaver, scientifically named Pseudonigrita arnaudi (Bonaparte, 1850), is a small weaver species, measuring 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) in length and weighing 15–26 g (0.53–0.92 oz). It has a sparrow-like, overall liver-colored appearance, with a pale grey crown, dark grey bill, whitish eye-ring, and horn-colored legs. There is some black marking in the wings, and the relatively short tail (for a weaver) has a light terminal band that becomes visible during flight. Adult males have an almost white cap, while adult females have a lighter grey cap. Juvenile birds have duller plumage, a brown bill, and a light liver-colored cap. Their vocalizations consist of long series of seven to ten high-pitched piercing squeaks, repeated in a pattern sounding like tseeer-tseeer-tseeer-.... Three subspecies of the grey-capped social weaver are currently recognized. The more southerly subspecies P. a. dorsalis can be distinguished by its bluish grey back, which is livery brown in the nominate subspecies. The nominate subspecies P. arnaudi arnaudi ranges from eastern South Sudan and neighboring northern Uganda around Mount Elgon, through the central highlands of Kenya, south to a strip of Tanzania between Speke Gulf (the southeastern extension of Lake Victoria) and Mount Kilimanjaro. Isolated populations of this subspecies also occur in the far southwest corner of Sudan (South Darfur), around Mega in southernmost Ethiopia, and around Xagar in southern Somalia. P. arnaudi dorsalis occurs in Tanzania, in a zone stretching from the south shore of Lake Victoria to north of Lake Malawi, with an additional isolated population located just south of Dar es Salaam.
