The Masters Craftsmen at work!

Master Craftsmen at Work ! 

During the monsoons, in this part of the country and elsewhere, it is a common sight that birds of sparrow-size with bright yellow crowns, dark brown masks, blackish brown bills, upper parts dark brown streaked with yellow, yellow breasts and cream buff below busy weaving beautiful nests. These are the Baya Weavers known for their unique nest-building capabilities that may have taught humans their first lessons on how to weave intricate designs and construct marvels of civil engineering. Weaver birds’ nests demonstrative of their fantastic unmatched skills and the hard work that goes behind them are one of the most sophisticated ones among the bird nests. Amazingly the nests are 100 per cent water proof that can withstand even huge storms as hardly any nest has been seen falling off.

Male Baya weavers elaborately weave nests that hang pendulously from mostly palm trees or thorny Acacias. The nests are retort-shaped, with a central nesting chamber and a long vertical tube that leads to a side entrance to the chamber. The opening is placed on the east side of the tree, proving shelter from South-west monsoons. The nests are woven with long strips of paddy leaves, rough grasses and long strips torn from palm fronds. Each strip can be between 20 and 60 cm in length. It has been estimated that the male bird makes around 500 trips to weave the nest which takes 18 days to complete with about eight days for the intermediate "helmet stage".

The nests are woven with long strips of paddy leaves, rough grasses and long strips torn from palm fronds. Each strip can be between 20 and 60 cm in length. The bird uses its strong conical beak to strip and collect the strands to weave and knot them with its beak and feet while building its nest. Even though isolated nests are not unknown, Baya Weavers mostly build their nests in colonies.

The nest building exercise of Male Baya Weavers is an important and integral step in courtship as the quality and location of the nest determines if the female selects the “builder” or not. The nest is partially built before the male begins to display to passing females by flapping its wings and calling while hanging from its nests. The females inspect the nest and signal its acceptance of a male. Once a male and a female are paired, the male goes on to complete the nest by adding the entrance tunnel. Males are almost solely in charge of nest building, though its female partner may join in giving the finishing touches, especially on the interiors It is believed that the female gives due importance to the location, even more than the structure. They prefer nests high in trees near water and food source rather than those over dry land and on thin branches. If even after few days, if no female occupies the nest, the male weaver will itself destroy the nest and start all over again. It is believed that a single bird may build up to 50 nests in a single mating season before eventually making the perfect one for the female to reside. Once the nest is occupied by the female, the male baya weaver rejoices merrily as if it is on the top of the world. Why not? After all, its labour has been well recognized and appreciated.

Since so much labour goes into building the nest, it would be cruel if we pluck these intricate structures to decorate our own homes with them as some people just do it that way or even just for a thrill. Please do not. Have a heart for these beautiful little birds that have taught mankind the art of weaving, civil engineering and quality and safety consciousness.

Pictures were taken in Thapli, Haryana, India on 19 August 2018 from a distance taking the necessary precautions not to disturb or distract the birds.