PERC-up for weaver project

A UCT project, PHOtos of Weaver Nests (PHOWN), is aiming to collect photos of all 112 African species of weaver birds.

A recent grant of R150,000 from the Programme for the Enhancement of Research Capacity (PERC) has given just the right nudge.

The project, run by Dr Dieter Oschadleus and Prof Les Underhill of UCT's Animal Demography Unit, collects snaps taken by 'citizen scientists' for its ever-growing virtual museum of weaver birds.

The collection already sports some 2 173 records of 48 species.