Village weaver appears on Portland

A village weaver, thought to have been a pet in Britain, has stunned wildlife enthusiasts by setting up home on the island.

The bright yellow bird, which has a distinctive black head and red eyes, usually lives south of the Sahara Desert.

It has been seen feeding from residents’ bird tables and is feasting on seeds and insects.

The tropical bird selected a cherry tree in someone’s garden to build its intricate nest.

Portland Bird Observatory warden Martin Cade said: “Village weavers are fairly common in Africa – rather like sparrows over here.

“They usually live in together in large numbers, with big colonies of nests, but this one is all alone.

“Weaver birds don’t migrate, so this one must have escaped from a cage nearby.”

Mr Cade added that there is no reason why the village weaver wouldn’t thrive – as long as it can get food.

He added: “This one has rather ambitiously built a nest, but I think it’s a futile effort unless we have a female escapee turn up too.

“It may be a lonely vigil for him while he waits.

“It’s very brightly coloured – much more so than most of our native birds – and its nest isn’t exactly unobtrusive, so unfortunately it will be at risk from predators like sparrowhawks.”

RSPB spokesman Grahame Madge said: “It’s interesting that the bird still has its nesting tendencies. It’s a very attractive bird because it’s strikingly black and yellow.

“Portland is an interesting place for it to turn up because it’s where you would expect the bird to end up if it did come here from Africa.

“Unfortunately though, this one is more likely to have come from Weymouth.”

Mr Madge said he wasn’t so sure about the weaver’s long-term survival prospects.

“Birds like weavers would probably have a very difficult time if the winter is like the winter we’ve just had.

“I’m sure it will stay for a while though and give people something to talk about, but I don’t think it’s going to create a massive interest among birdwatchers.”