• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Range map
• Resources

Taxonomic note
Ploceus holoxanthus had been synonymised with P. subaureus for many years, but critical analysis shows consistent morphological differences, and it is sympatric and genetically distinct (Turner and Kennedy 2019, Fjeldså et al. 2020). A strong case has been made for its elevation to species status, summarised by Oschadleus et al. (2021). Monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2023. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 8. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v8_Dec23.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2023	Near Threatened	D1
2016	Not Recognised
2012	Not Recognised
2008	Not Recognised
2004	Not Recognised
2000	Not Recognised
1994	Not Recognised
1988	Not Recognised

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	17,900 km2
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	650-3350 mature individuals	poor	suspected	2021
Population trend	stable	-	suspected	-
Generation length	3.3 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1-10,1	-	-	-

Population justification: The population size is uncertain due to species status only being clarified recently. However, an initial assessment based on the distribution of colonies located, including extensive searches in stretches where the species is absent, suspects a small population size that is likely in the low thousands (Oschadleus et al. 2021). While this is not an estimate, the population size is therefore suspected to fall between 1,000 and 5,000 individuals, indicating that the lower bound of the number of mature individuals falls below 1,000. Further exploration of the habitat along the rivers along which it is known to occur may result in an increase in this initial value.

Trend justification: In the absence of significant threats likely to have population implications, and in observing the persistence of the species in the same localities and apparently across a similar distribution as noted more than a century previously, the population is suspected to be stable.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Tanzania	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	major	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Large dams	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Causing/Could cause fluctuations		Low Impact: 3
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Species factsheet: Ruvu Weaver Ploceus holoxanthus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/ruvu-weaver-ploceus-holoxanthus on 20/01/2025.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2025) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 20/01/2025.