Locally common breeding resident inhabiting tall reedbeds in marshes and tank edges in the dry lowlands, mainly in coastal areas. Occasionally also visits similar habitats in the wet lowlands. It lives as flocks and feeds on seeds and insects in paddy fields and marshes. Streaked Weaver breeds from February to October by laying two to four eggs in globular nests with much shorter entrance than Baya Weaver's nest, woven with reeds in scattered colonies.
