Asian Golden Weaver

The Asian golden weaver (Ploceus hypoxanthus) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, and arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss and capture, notably for the merit release trade. == Historical background == The Asian Golden Weaver was initially named and discovered by Anders Erikson Sparrman, a Swedish naturalist. Although Sparrman sailed around the world with James Cook, starting from Cape Town, on Cook's second expedition to the Pacific (1772–1775), they did not visit islands as far north as Sumatra. After the voyage Sparrman returned to Cape Town in July 1775 and practiced medicine. In 1776 he returned to Sweden and published a Catalogue of the Museum Carlsonianum (1786–89), in which he described many of the specimens he had collected in South Africa and the South Pacific, some of which were new to science. As a result, he wrote a Latin description of the Asian Golden Weaver. == Description == The breeding male is generally bright yellow with a black mask (diagnostic in Asia). Females, non-breeding males and young birds are dull…