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Wednesday 21 October 2026

A sandy-brown sociable weaver with a pale bill, black chin and scaly black-and-white flank patch perches on a branch.
Photo: scaup · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Picked by voters

Sociable weaver

Up to about 500 of these small birds can share one nest, which may be about 7 metres long, weigh at least a tonne and be over 100 years old.

Lives in
SavannaDry savanna of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa
More about the sociable weaverScientific name, size and Red List status
Scientific name
Philetairus socius
Size
About 14 cm long
IUCN Red List
Least concern

Not threatened at the moment, according to the IUCN Red List. See the assessment

Fact source: Biodiversity Explorer (Iziko Museums)

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This week

Every animal so far
  1. Mon 19Basket star
  2. Tue 20Alpaca
  3. Wed 21Sociable weaverViewing
  4. Thu 22Gumboot chiton
  5. Fri 23Cape dwarf chameleonToday
  6. Sat 24Tomorrow’s animalin 1 h 0 min
  7. Sun 25

Why Animall

People can’t care about animals they have never heard of.

Scientists still discover thousands of new animal species every year, while many others are disappearing because of habitat loss and climate change. Some die out before anyone has described them.

10,000+

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University of Arizona, 2025

86%

of species on Earth, and 91% in the ocean, have not been described yet.

Mora et al., 2011

73%

average drop in monitored wildlife populations between 1970 and 2020.

WWF Living Planet Report, 2024