page_title: Red-billed buffalo weaver
section_title: Reproduction and breeding
hierarchical_section_title: Red-billed buffalo weaver / Reproduction and breeding
caption_attribution_description: Adansonia digitata Afrikaans: Kremetartboom in noordelike Tanzanië, met verskillende Buffelwewerneste English: Baobab tree with Red-billed buffalo weaver nests. Picture taken in northern Tanzania Deutsch: Affenbrotbäume oder Baobab-Bäume, mit Nester des Büffelwebers, fotografiert in Tanzania
context_page_description: The red-billed buffalo weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa. Its natural habitat is the dry savanna.
context_section_description: Red-billed buffalo weavers breed in colonies. The nests are composed of an enormous mass of thorny twigs. These twigs are divided into separate lodges (compartments), each with multiple egg chambers. Each chamber has a smaller nest, typically built by the female (unless they are part of a cooperative breeding colony). The smaller nest is composed of grass, leaves, and roots. The whole nest is usually found in a thorny tree or in a windmill near areas inhabited by humans. When humans leave particular areas, so do the red-billed buffalo weavers living in the same area. White-backed vultures and bateleurs tend to construct their nests above red-billed buffalo weaver nests, which is helpful in camouflaging their nests from predators.
  Male red-billed buffalo weavers possess a pseudo-penis around 1.5 cm long. It was first reported in an 1831 German anatomist's report on the birds and subsequent research has shown that it is female selected. The pseudo-penis has no blood vessels and does not carry sperm but instead appears to be favored by the females for pleasure and aids males in attracting females; males in colonies have larger pseudo-penises than males which live alone, suggesting male-male competition has also favored the growth of this peculiar organ.
  Egg laying season can last from September to June, with the peak occurring between December and March. Females lay anywhere from 2 to 4 eggs and incubate them for roughly 14 days. The females are the only ones that tend to the eggs during this period. After 20 to 23 days, the birds leave the nest.
caption: Nests in a baobab in northern Tanzania
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