Lake Lufira Masked-Weaver Ploceus ruweti

A red-eyed masked-weaver with a plain olive-yellow back and pink-brown legs. The breeding male has a black face mask extending to the hind-crown and almost enveloping the head, and a strong chestnut breast and flanks (mid-belly is yellowish). Female and juvenile are dull green above with wingbars, and yellowish below. Pairs and colonies are very localized residents of riverside vegetation, preferring trees to reedbeds for breeding, at Lake Tshangalele and Kiubo Falls in the southeastern DRC. The ranges of most similar masked-weavers do not overlap, but breeding male Tanganyika Masked-Weaver has a less extensive black mask; Katanga and Southern Masked-Weavers are much yellower.