Baglafecht Weaver

The Baglafecht Weaver, which belongs to the Ploceidae family, is a large-sized weaver that has the widest variation of plumage out of all weaver species. Regardless of the subspecies and sex, they all have a pale eye, a face that is more or less tinged with black, a yellow or beige-gray breast, and yellow or green wing borders. The nominative subspecies P.b. baglafecht is the only one with nuptial plumage in the male. From the front, the reproductive male has a black mask between the top and bottom of the golden yellow head. The nape and sides of the nape are grayish-green. The upper parts are olive-tinged and brown-spotted. The remiges and rectrices are brown bordered with yellow. The breast is yellow, and the belly is whitish-gray. The female resembles the male but the crown is greenish and she has a dull black mask. The upper parts of P.b. neumanni are a brighter green than the nominative subspecies, and the yellow forehead is a bit paler. P.b. eremobius is slightly smaller than the nominative subspecies and the plumage is identical but with more whiteness to the lower parts. P.b. emini has the forehead, crown top, chin, throat, and breast golden yellow that all surrounds the common black mask of all subspecies. The rest of the body is brown-olive. The flanks can be slightly yellow, the mantle is speckled more or less, and the remiges are bordered with pale yellow. The female, identical to the male, has the black crown. The black crown of P.b. stuhlmanni blends into the black mask and the female has a duller crown. In both sexes, the nape and upper parts are yellowish-green. The male P.b. reichenowi has the crown top, the back of the ear-coverts, the chin, and the throat a golden yellow that is all surrounded by the common black mask.The back of the head and the nape are black. It has a large black mask around the eyes, descending slightly on the cheeks. The underside is entirely golden yellow and the top is entirely black. Only the yellow wing edgings, contrasting with the rest of the upper parts, bring colour to the bird seen from behind. The female has the head entirely black except for the throat and the sides of the nape which are golden yellow. Like the male, she has the upper parts black and the lower parts yellow. P.b. sharpii resembles P.b. stuhlmanni with the male's upper parts greener and the lower parts pale yellow, P.b. nyikae has the crown dark and the upper parts greyish. In all the subspecies, the beak is black, strong and pointed. The legs are flesh-coloured. The juveniles are duller than the females with dark eyes.