The male black-headed weaver (Ploceus melanocephalus) – also known as yellow-backed weaver – makes a nest by stitching strips of straws to make a basket with a roof. He uses grasses to tie knots and make sure the nest is completely secure. Finally, he shows the nest to females, in effort to attract a mate. In the end the females are left to raise their young alone while he goes off to find another female – the males are polygynous, mating with several females. The female and non-breeding male lack the black head. Black-headed weavers feed in large flocks, sometimes mixed with other species of weavers and starlings, mainly beside rivers and wetlands.