Lesser Masked Weaver (Ploceus intermedius) [XC280563]
by Peter Boesman from Polokwane Game Reserve, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa (call)
Lesser Masked Weaver (Ploceus intermedius) [XC451575]
by Oscar Campbell from Sandia Lodge nr Lake Baringo, Kenya (call)
Subspecies
Relationships uncertain. Has been thought to be closest to Little Weaver (Ploceus luteolus) (when this believed to form a superspecies with Slender-billed Weaver (Ploceus pelzelni) and Loango Weaver (Ploceus subpersonatus)) or to Black-headed Weaver (Ploceus melanocephalus), but neither possibility seems likely.
Proposed subspecies beattyi (described from western Angola) and luebberti (from Damaraland, in north-central Namibia) synonymized with cabanisii.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
intermedius Rüppell, 1845 - Djibouti, Ethiopia, north-western and southern Somalia, south-eastern Sudan, Uganda, Kenya (except north-east), north-eastern DRCongo, Rwanda, Burundi, and north-west, central and eastern Tanzania (except south-east).
cabanisii (Peters, W, 1868) - South-western PRCongo, coastal Angola, south-western Tanzania, south-eastern DRCongo, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, western and south-western Mozambique, northern Namibia, northern and eastern Botswana, northern and eastern South Africa and Swaziland.
beattyi Traylor, 1959 - Arid coastal western Angola.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet