PLOCEIDAE

songbird family, order Passeriformes, including the bishop, weaver, and whydah groups and Old World sparrows. The 135 to 155 species are native chiefly to Africabut several have been introduced elsewhere. Ploceids are small, compact birds with short, stout bills. In many species the males are brightly coloured; some acquire, in nonbreeding season, dull plumage resembling that of females. Ploceids are commonest in dry, hot country, where they forage on the ground for seeds and insects. Most are highly gregarious, and many are polygamous. They chirp and chatter incessantly. Except for the parasitic whydahs and certain sparrows, all weave covered nests, typically in colonies. The usually five or six eggs are tinted and speckled in most species. The relationships of these and other seedeaters are very uncertain, and authorities disagree widely on the classification of the groups.