The sociable weaver is one of the most interesting birds in the world, due to its lifestyle and the way it builds its nests.
Il sociable weaver it is one of the most interesting birds in the world, different from most other birds both for its lifestyle and for the way it builds its nest.
Although sociable weavers (Philetairus socius) are very common in the Kalahari region of southern Africa, they represent a species with extraordinary features.
These little birds, in fact, they build huge nests that resemble real condominiums dedicated to entire colonies. Each nest can get to accommodate up to 100 families of weavers and some nests have been busy for over 100 years.
©Karel Bartik/Shutterstock
Seen from afar, the nests resemble giant haystacks hanging from trees, but in reality they are not such simple structures. Looking at the bottom of the nest, you can see the various entrances, similar to a sort of beehive.
Each entrance is equipped with a tunnel that can reach 25 centimeters in length and which leads to round and welcoming nesting chambers: a single nest can have from 5 to 100 rooms and host from 10 to 400 birds that do not leave the nest for their entire life.
©Rainer Lesniewski/Shutterstock
The sociable weavers they build their nests with great care, selecting the different materials according to the purpose. To make the roof of the nest they use large branches, while the tunnels involve the use of dry grasses and pointed straw twigs at the entrance to protect the chambers from any predators.
The inside of the rooms come instead covered with soft materials like cotton or animal hair.
Also the choice of tree on which to build is essential: weavers choose plants with tall, smooth trunks to discourage creeping predators, such as snakes. Some weavers build their nest on electricity or telephone poles, as they are safer.
Sociable weavers construct permanent nests on trees and other tall objects. These nests are the largest built by any bird, and are large enough to house over a hundred pairs of birds, containing several generations at a time https://t.co/5ylYd8hpeu pic.twitter.com/bNrG6HGIdY
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 7, 2019
The nests then need constant care and the weavers are sociable very active in maintenance: they continually add new materials and remove old ones, to keep the structure intact.
These large nests offer several advantages to sociable weavers: first of all, they help the birds to withstand the freezing winter nights and the scorching summer temperatures, isolating them from the outside.
A large family united under the same roof also guarantees help to raise the new born. Each female lays two to six eggs which are hatched by both parents in turn. When the eggs hatch, the chicks are fed by the parents but also by the older siblings and members of other families.
The large nests can then offer accommodation to several guests including hawks, blue tit, finches and other birds as well as providing shelter and shade for numerous wildlife including baboons and cheetahs. Weavers willingly share their huge homes, because this means having more eyes to watch over the nest, as well as being able to learn from other species where to find new food sources. Hosting such a huge variety of species makes these extraordinary ecologically important nests.
Building such large and elaborate nests is no easy task for such small birds. Still, weavers manage to make their huge nests without any training, simply thanks to instinct and to collaboration of the whole community.
Sources of reference: Cornell University / ReserchGate / HBW Alive
Read also:
- Live images of a little bird building a nest inside a beautiful little house
- The birdhouses of the Ottoman palaces in Istanbul
- Sleeping like birds: Jason Fann's tree nests
