Scientific name: Philetairus socius
The sociable weaver has a black chin, black barred flanks and a scalloped back. Sexes are indistinguishable.
Endemic to southern Africa, occurring from Namibia through south-eastern Botswana to the Northern, North-West and Free State Provinces of South Africa. It generally prefers arid savanna and woodland, although it may move into grassland, Mopane (Colosphermum mopane) woodland and the largely treeless Namib Desert, the latter permitted by the introduction of artificial structures which it uses as nest sites. They build large compound community nests, a rarity among birds.
It mainly eats seeds, supplemented with termites and other insects, foraging in large flocks which pluck food from the ground.
