He used the French name Le carouge du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Xanthornus Capitis Bonae Spei.

[2] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.

[3] When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson.

[10] The Cape weaver occurs in open grassland, lowland fynbos, coastal thicket and farmland, so long as there is permanent water and trees.

[8] The Cape weaver is a polygynous, territorial colonial nester, each male may have up to 7 females in a single breeding season.

The nest is built by the male in about a week, and is a kidney-shaped, fully waterproof construction made of broad strips of grass or reeds that are woven together.

The nest is usually attached to the tip of a tree branch, often exotic species such as eucalyptus or willow or it is built in tall wetland vegetation such as reeds Phragmites or reedmace Typha capensis, on utility lines or on fences overlooking water.

[8] The Cape weaver is omnivorous with a diet that is evenly divided between animal and plant matter, particularly seeds, fruit and nectar.

It forages in a variety of ways on the ground, in tree foliage, gleaning food from bark and hawking insects in the air.