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Africa’s Social Weaverbirds Take Communal Living to a Whole New Level
The nests of most songbirds are small and hidden, made by one bird or a pair, and function only to hold, hide, and protect one clutch of eggs and young. Those of the sociable weavers of the Namib and Kalahari deserts of southern Africa do much more. They are the world’s largest and most populated tree houses, weighing up to a ton or more and ranging up to 20 feet wide and 10 feet tall. One of these communal homes contains a hundred or more nesting chambers, or apartments. They’re refurbished and reused, with residents adding new ones over successive generations, often for more than a century. Each generation inherits, builds on, and profits from the environment created by its predecessors.
Unlike most weaverbirds, sociable weaverbirds don’t “weave.” Their nests look like huts, complete with a sloping thatched-grass roof that sheds rain. The structure grows as the birds add new apartments, inserting dry grasses into the bottoms and sides. Each of the hundred or more breeding pairs tends to its own compartment. The couples line the interior with soft downy plant material and construct a private entrance—a 10-inch-long, one-inch-wide passageway—out of downward-pointing spiky straws that keeps out snakes. With dozens and dozens of entrances packed closely together, the underside of the communal home has a honeycomb appearance.
These last two images came from Google. Click on headline to read more.
These birds make huge nests in South African deserts to survive boiling summer days and freezing nights.
These last two images came from Google. Click on headline to read more.
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