Sociable Weaver Project
@sociableweaver.bsky.social
Long-term research programme using sociable weavers to study the causes and consequences of #sociality @Fitztitute , @CIBIO_InBIO , @Cefemontpellier
Benfontein Nature Reserve, SA sociableweaverproject.com
Benfontein Nature Reserve, SA sociableweaverproject.com
Reposted by Sociable Weaver Project
How can deep learning transform the study of animal behaviour in the wild? Join Dr Rita Covas for our next Fitz seminar, exploring AI-based methods for individual recognition and automated behavioural monitoring.
📅 13 August | 13:00
📍 Niven Library
📅 13 August | 13:00
📍 Niven Library
August 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM
How can deep learning transform the study of animal behaviour in the wild? Join Dr Rita Covas for our next Fitz seminar, exploring AI-based methods for individual recognition and automated behavioural monitoring.
📅 13 August | 13:00
📍 Niven Library
📅 13 August | 13:00
📍 Niven Library
We had a great time at #ISBE2026 presenting our work on sociable weavers and enjoying so many inspiring talks! 💪🪺
Thanks to everyone who organised such a great conference, and to everyone for all the exciting discussions! 🐥
Thanks to everyone who organised such a great conference, and to everyone for all the exciting discussions! 🐥
July 27, 2026 at 9:35 AM
We had a great time at #ISBE2026 presenting our work on sociable weavers and enjoying so many inspiring talks! 💪🪺
Thanks to everyone who organised such a great conference, and to everyone for all the exciting discussions! 🐥
Thanks to everyone who organised such a great conference, and to everyone for all the exciting discussions! 🐥
We are looking for two field managers‼️Starting end of August South Africa 🌍 If you have fieldwork experience and want a job with added responsibility of overseeing the field activities, see below for more information. 🐣 Deadline 15/06/2026
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
#fieldjobs
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
#fieldjobs
June 8, 2026 at 10:36 AM
We are looking for two field managers‼️Starting end of August South Africa 🌍 If you have fieldwork experience and want a job with added responsibility of overseeing the field activities, see below for more information. 🐣 Deadline 15/06/2026
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
#fieldjobs
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
#fieldjobs
Very proud to share the cool methodological development led by Liliana Silva that greatly facilitates video-based behaviour analyses! 🙌
Tested on sociable weavers, blue and great tits! Great performance and 8x faster than manual analyses! 🤩
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Tested on sociable weavers, blue and great tits! Great performance and 8x faster than manual analyses! 🤩
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
June 3, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Very proud to share the cool methodological development led by Liliana Silva that greatly facilitates video-based behaviour analyses! 🙌
Tested on sociable weavers, blue and great tits! Great performance and 8x faster than manual analyses! 🤩
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Tested on sociable weavers, blue and great tits! Great performance and 8x faster than manual analyses! 🤩
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Excited to share our new paper on infanticide in sociable weavers using 12 years of data! 🎉🐣
We found no evidence that infanticide provides direct reproductive benefits. Instead, our results suggest it may be driven by social competition.
Read more here:
peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
We found no evidence that infanticide provides direct reproductive benefits. Instead, our results suggest it may be driven by social competition.
Read more here:
peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
Infanticide in a colonial cooperative bird is not associated with direct reproductive benefits
peercommunityjournal.org
May 27, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Excited to share our new paper on infanticide in sociable weavers using 12 years of data! 🎉🐣
We found no evidence that infanticide provides direct reproductive benefits. Instead, our results suggest it may be driven by social competition.
Read more here:
peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
We found no evidence that infanticide provides direct reproductive benefits. Instead, our results suggest it may be driven by social competition.
Read more here:
peercommunityjournal.org/articles/10....
A great week together in Portugal for our sociable weaver winter meeting! 🐥🐥🎉🏔️
Ended perfectly with trying to spot the Iberian wolf at Sierra de la Culebra in Spain 🐺🐾
Ended perfectly with trying to spot the Iberian wolf at Sierra de la Culebra in Spain 🐺🐾
January 13, 2026 at 7:59 AM
A great week together in Portugal for our sociable weaver winter meeting! 🐥🐥🎉🏔️
Ended perfectly with trying to spot the Iberian wolf at Sierra de la Culebra in Spain 🐺🐾
Ended perfectly with trying to spot the Iberian wolf at Sierra de la Culebra in Spain 🐺🐾
Great #ASABWinter2025 conference in Edinburgh! Proud to be presenting our sociable weaver acoustics and social network results from two of our PhD students! 🎉
@asab.org
@asab.org
December 16, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Great #ASABWinter2025 conference in Edinburgh! Proud to be presenting our sociable weaver acoustics and social network results from two of our PhD students! 🎉
@asab.org
@asab.org
Exciting new database on cooperative breeding out now! 🪺
A big congratulations to everyone involved! 🎉
It's great to see sociable weavers featured in this cross-species effort to understand cooperation!
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@co-breed.bsky.social
A big congratulations to everyone involved! 🎉
It's great to see sociable weavers featured in this cross-species effort to understand cooperation!
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@co-breed.bsky.social
October 24, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Exciting new database on cooperative breeding out now! 🪺
A big congratulations to everyone involved! 🎉
It's great to see sociable weavers featured in this cross-species effort to understand cooperation!
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@co-breed.bsky.social
A big congratulations to everyone involved! 🎉
It's great to see sociable weavers featured in this cross-species effort to understand cooperation!
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@co-breed.bsky.social
The BBC #Parenthood series joined us in Benfontein to film infanticide in sociable weavers for Ep. 3: Grassland🪺
It shows how complex (and sometimes brutal) parenthood can be!
Huge thanks to everyone involved for capturing incredible footage and sharing these stories🎉
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
It shows how complex (and sometimes brutal) parenthood can be!
Huge thanks to everyone involved for capturing incredible footage and sharing these stories🎉
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Parenthood - Everything you need to know about the wildlife series from filming locations to featured species and more
Sir David Attenborough returns to narrate amazing stories of dedication, ingenuity and sacrifice, as animal parents embark on the greatest challenge of all - raising their young
www.bbc.co.uk
August 8, 2025 at 10:32 AM
The BBC #Parenthood series joined us in Benfontein to film infanticide in sociable weavers for Ep. 3: Grassland🪺
It shows how complex (and sometimes brutal) parenthood can be!
Huge thanks to everyone involved for capturing incredible footage and sharing these stories🎉
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
It shows how complex (and sometimes brutal) parenthood can be!
Huge thanks to everyone involved for capturing incredible footage and sharing these stories🎉
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
🚨Field assistant job in South Africa working with sociable weavers for nest building observations🚨
😎Experienced in behavioural observations?
🪹🪶Enjoy studying nest building and birds?
Find more information below! Applications close: 25/07/2025
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
😎Experienced in behavioural observations?
🪹🪶Enjoy studying nest building and birds?
Find more information below! Applications close: 25/07/2025
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
Building & vigilance observations assistant
applications are OPen estimated closing date : 2025-07-25 The Sociable Weaver Project is offering a position for a motivated field assistant with a keen interest in animal behaviour that will be in…
sociableweaverproject.com
July 8, 2025 at 2:48 PM
🚨Field assistant job in South Africa working with sociable weavers for nest building observations🚨
😎Experienced in behavioural observations?
🪹🪶Enjoy studying nest building and birds?
Find more information below! Applications close: 25/07/2025
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
😎Experienced in behavioural observations?
🪹🪶Enjoy studying nest building and birds?
Find more information below! Applications close: 25/07/2025
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
Congratulations to @nicolasjsilva.bsky.social for publishing another chapter from his PhD! 🎉🪶
We show how deep learning can reveal differences across sexes in a seemingly monomorphic species 🐦🐦
Check it out here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
#AnimalBehaviourJournal
We show how deep learning can reveal differences across sexes in a seemingly monomorphic species 🐦🐦
Check it out here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
#AnimalBehaviourJournal
June 5, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Congratulations to @nicolasjsilva.bsky.social for publishing another chapter from his PhD! 🎉🪶
We show how deep learning can reveal differences across sexes in a seemingly monomorphic species 🐦🐦
Check it out here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
#AnimalBehaviourJournal
We show how deep learning can reveal differences across sexes in a seemingly monomorphic species 🐦🐦
Check it out here:
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
#AnimalBehaviourJournal
🚨Field assistant job in South Africa working with sociable weavers 🚨
🔌Experienced in electronics?
🏷️Enjoy working with RFID technology?
🪶Like working with birds?
Find more information below!
Applications close on 08/06/2025
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
#fieldwork #ornithology
🔌Experienced in electronics?
🏷️Enjoy working with RFID technology?
🪶Like working with birds?
Find more information below!
Applications close on 08/06/2025
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
#fieldwork #ornithology
Feeding station and breeding monitoring assistant
applications arE OPEN estimated closing date : 2025-06-08 The Sociable Weaver Project uses several automatic feeding stations to collect data on social network associations. These feeding stations …
sociableweaverproject.com
May 16, 2025 at 12:55 PM
🚨Field assistant job in South Africa working with sociable weavers 🚨
🔌Experienced in electronics?
🏷️Enjoy working with RFID technology?
🪶Like working with birds?
Find more information below!
Applications close on 08/06/2025
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
#fieldwork #ornithology
🔌Experienced in electronics?
🏷️Enjoy working with RFID technology?
🪶Like working with birds?
Find more information below!
Applications close on 08/06/2025
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
#fieldwork #ornithology
Reposted by Sociable Weaver Project
Fascinating talk from Helga Fourie from CIBIO Portugal at the #ASABSpring2025 conference: Proximity promotes social partner choice in weaver birds.
#asab
#asab
April 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Fascinating talk from Helga Fourie from CIBIO Portugal at the #ASABSpring2025 conference: Proximity promotes social partner choice in weaver birds.
#asab
#asab
🐦 We are recruiting two field managers to work with us in South Africa on the fantastic sociable weaver system 🐦
Tasks include breeding monitoring and overseeing the field team activities 🪶
Deadline for applications: 20/04/2025
For more information:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
Tasks include breeding monitoring and overseeing the field team activities 🪶
Deadline for applications: 20/04/2025
For more information:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
Field managers
applications ARE OPEN estimated Closing date : 2025-04-20 Every year, the Sociable Weaver Project hires 2 field managers to oversee different aspects of the project’s fieldwork and monitor re…
sociableweaverproject.com
April 1, 2025 at 10:55 AM
🐦 We are recruiting two field managers to work with us in South Africa on the fantastic sociable weaver system 🐦
Tasks include breeding monitoring and overseeing the field team activities 🪶
Deadline for applications: 20/04/2025
For more information:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
Tasks include breeding monitoring and overseeing the field team activities 🪶
Deadline for applications: 20/04/2025
For more information:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
Reposted by Sociable Weaver Project
In this paper, we compared three approaches: (1) strict time-window, (2) co-occurrence, and (3) arrival time methods to define associations for house sparrows on Lundy Island, UK, and Broken Hill, Australia; great tits in Wytham Woods, UK; and sociable weavers in Benfontein National Park.
February 11, 2025 at 3:15 PM
In this paper, we compared three approaches: (1) strict time-window, (2) co-occurrence, and (3) arrival time methods to define associations for house sparrows on Lundy Island, UK, and Broken Hill, Australia; great tits in Wytham Woods, UK; and sociable weavers in Benfontein National Park.
To celebrate Darwin Day, we support the call for strengthening the teaching of evolution at schools in Portugal! 🪶
Em modo de celebrar o dia de Darwin, queremos mostrar o nosso apoio no ensino da matéria de Evolução no ensino em Portugal!
www.publico.pt/2025/02/12/c...
Em modo de celebrar o dia de Darwin, queremos mostrar o nosso apoio no ensino da matéria de Evolução no ensino em Portugal!
www.publico.pt/2025/02/12/c...
A evolução no dia a dia – e a urgência de a ensinar no ensino básico
Em Portugal, muitos alunos chegam ao ensino superior sem uma compreensão sólida do conceito de evolução e sem conseguir aplicá-lo a questões do dia a dia.
www.publico.pt
February 12, 2025 at 12:08 PM
To celebrate Darwin Day, we support the call for strengthening the teaching of evolution at schools in Portugal! 🪶
Em modo de celebrar o dia de Darwin, queremos mostrar o nosso apoio no ensino da matéria de Evolução no ensino em Portugal!
www.publico.pt/2025/02/12/c...
Em modo de celebrar o dia de Darwin, queremos mostrar o nosso apoio no ensino da matéria de Evolução no ensino em Portugal!
www.publico.pt/2025/02/12/c...
🎉This December, we celebrate the brilliant PhD defenses of two theses on sexual selection in weavers! 🎉
Congratulations to Dr Nicolas Silva for his work on sexual selection in genetically monogamous and monomorphic sociable weavers!🐦💡
Congratulations to Dr Nicolas Silva for his work on sexual selection in genetically monogamous and monomorphic sociable weavers!🐦💡
December 13, 2024 at 2:31 PM
🎉This December, we celebrate the brilliant PhD defenses of two theses on sexual selection in weavers! 🎉
Congratulations to Dr Nicolas Silva for his work on sexual selection in genetically monogamous and monomorphic sociable weavers!🐦💡
Congratulations to Dr Nicolas Silva for his work on sexual selection in genetically monogamous and monomorphic sociable weavers!🐦💡
🔌Interested in fieldwork and electronics?🔋
We need a tech-savvy bird enthusiast to manage our RFID feeding stations for sociable weavers!
🗓️ Start: Early Jan 2025
Experience with electronics is needed for this position
For more information see here:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
We need a tech-savvy bird enthusiast to manage our RFID feeding stations for sociable weavers!
🗓️ Start: Early Jan 2025
Experience with electronics is needed for this position
For more information see here:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
November 15, 2024 at 1:18 PM
🔌Interested in fieldwork and electronics?🔋
We need a tech-savvy bird enthusiast to manage our RFID feeding stations for sociable weavers!
🗓️ Start: Early Jan 2025
Experience with electronics is needed for this position
For more information see here:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
We need a tech-savvy bird enthusiast to manage our RFID feeding stations for sociable weavers!
🗓️ Start: Early Jan 2025
Experience with electronics is needed for this position
For more information see here:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
🚨Job opening🚨
We are hiring two managers to help with data collection and oversee fieldwork on sociable weavers in South Africa!
Includes breeding monitoring
🗓️ Start: Feb 2025
📅 Apply by: End of Nov
Applications until the end of November:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
We are hiring two managers to help with data collection and oversee fieldwork on sociable weavers in South Africa!
Includes breeding monitoring
🗓️ Start: Feb 2025
📅 Apply by: End of Nov
Applications until the end of November:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
November 15, 2024 at 1:09 PM
🚨Job opening🚨
We are hiring two managers to help with data collection and oversee fieldwork on sociable weavers in South Africa!
Includes breeding monitoring
🗓️ Start: Feb 2025
📅 Apply by: End of Nov
Applications until the end of November:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
We are hiring two managers to help with data collection and oversee fieldwork on sociable weavers in South Africa!
Includes breeding monitoring
🗓️ Start: Feb 2025
📅 Apply by: End of Nov
Applications until the end of November:
sociableweaverproject.com/recruitment/...
Sociable weaver nests & pygmy falcons stealing the show at Tswalu & the KRC! 🤩
Big thanks to Robert Thomson, Sithabile Khumalo, Lesedi Moagi, Marta Manser, Tim Clutton-Brock and Walt Jubber for hosting Rita Covas. It was a fantastic trip in all ways!
Big thanks to Robert Thomson, Sithabile Khumalo, Lesedi Moagi, Marta Manser, Tim Clutton-Brock and Walt Jubber for hosting Rita Covas. It was a fantastic trip in all ways!
November 15, 2024 at 1:05 PM
Sociable weaver nests & pygmy falcons stealing the show at Tswalu & the KRC! 🤩
Big thanks to Robert Thomson, Sithabile Khumalo, Lesedi Moagi, Marta Manser, Tim Clutton-Brock and Walt Jubber for hosting Rita Covas. It was a fantastic trip in all ways!
Big thanks to Robert Thomson, Sithabile Khumalo, Lesedi Moagi, Marta Manser, Tim Clutton-Brock and Walt Jubber for hosting Rita Covas. It was a fantastic trip in all ways!