Lesser Masked Weaver (Ploceus intermedius) [XC280561]
by Peter Boesman from Polokwane Game Reserve, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa (call)
Lesser Masked Weaver (Ploceus intermedius) [XC449633]
by Frank Lambert from Road past Engikaret, Monduli, Arusha Region, Tanzania (call, song)
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.