House Sparrow sized, Baya Weavers are master craftsmen. Their nests are the works of great ingenuity. The summer months transiting into monsoon rains witness the intense activity of nest building by these tireless birds.
It is the male Baya Weavers which are more beautiful as compared to their female counterparts, who construct the nest. The sole purpose of the nest building is to find a suitable partner and make preparations for next generations.
When the nest is in the half way stage, the males invite the females. They make noises and flap their wings whenever female Weavers fly near the tree, these male Weavers flap their wings sitting on their half done nests to attract their attention hoping that one of them may be kind enough to inspect the nest and build a bonding.
Birds make nests not to live in but lay eggs and start the next generation. Nests are of wide sizes and shapes, ordinary but practical and ornate type. But the nest of Baya Weaver bird is a work of great craftsmanship. It is made exclusively by male bird in the height of summers in India.
Finished Nest has two doors but there is a catch. When the nest reaches the stage when the vertical door is to start, male bird invites the female who inspects the work. If she likes it and agrees to move in for making a pair for eggs and chicks and next generation. If she reject it, the male is dejected and dismantles the entire work. It then begins to weave another nest.
It is said that Baya Weaver makes more than 500 trips to bring the grass stalks for nest building. The nests are made on the trees like acacia and other thorny trees which makes the entry of predators difficult. They are generally on the trees which are near the water bodies.
Baya Weavers are small birds of house sparrow size. The scientific name is Ploceus philippinus. What separates them from other birds is the beautiful nests they weave from the grass stalks, mud blobs.
The name weaver itself justifies the mastery is weaving very elaborate and elegant nests hanging from the branches of very high palm trees, thorny acacia trees. Usually these trees are near the water pools, scrub grasses where they are safe from predators.
It is male domain entirely to make the nest. When it is in the almost halfway stage, they invite the females by flapping their wings and if the female approves the nest, it means that she will reside with the particular male, mate and raise the new chicks. If she doesn’t approve, the structure will be abandoned and weaver will feel dejected and sometimes tore away the nest. It starts making newer one.
These birds come to our area in North India, at the peak of summers and by the onset of monsoon rains, have their nests completed. They visit the fields for foraging the seeds both raw and fallen after ripening.
After monsoons, and winter coming, they migrate to slightly warmer areas like western India where food is available and weather is not harsh.
The birds are gregarious and live in flocks. They can be located from the noises they make.
Weaver Birds visit our area when summers are at peak. They stay here, make beautiful nests using the grass stalks and mate and raise the chicks for new generation. Most common are Baya Weavers which make nests on the acacia, palm trees which are difficult for predators to approach.
Birds choose the places to nest in the area where food and water is available and safe from disturbances.
But there is another variety called Black Breasted Weaver. It is master strategist in the choice of the area fulfilling all three criteria. They make different kind of nests and use the long grasses to hang the nests. I accidentally discovered the nest while stopping on the scooter near a roundabout near Ghaggar river bridge in Panchkula Haryana of India.
On the side of road are trenches and crests and a water pool, I saw the nest last year. This year also I saw these nest almost in the same spot. Area is very difficult to approach. I somehow approached at not so favourable distant but still very far for better pictures of this small beautiful bird. It makes nest if the tall reed grass and so much camouflaged that you cannot see it clearly. Only once or twice it sat on the top of dry grass.
It is very small sized bird which fabricates beautiful nests. These nests hang from the fronds of trees which have thorny in nature to ward off the predators like snakes which are a threat to their eggs. The entry of the nest is near bottom. So the nests are generally made in large groups on trees like Acacia and Palm fronds.
These birds generally live in large groups as can be seen from the number of nests made on a single tree. Secondly they prefer, in addition to the type of tree being acacia or palm, the location where food is easily available and also pools of water are there. They prefer to be near fields of Bajra ( pearl millet), jowar (sorghum) and teosinte which grow seeds at thr top. One can see, these birds making visits to these fields and back to the nest and listen to their chirping standing near the fields
Baya weaver is scientifically called Ploceus Phillippinus. It is found commonly in South East Asia. Flocks are found in the cultivated areas, grasslands where food is available in plenty and and raw material for construction of nests and specific trees are standing.
Like the humans, female of the pair dominates. There are intersting sequences while making the nests. It the male who make many template nests. These are then inspected by the female. Female destroys the templates which it does not like. When finally, the one is approved, both of them complete the rest of construction together. One can see birds in frenzy during the nest making activity is going on.
In North Indian states like Punjab and Haryana, the conditions for making the nests are fulfilled, nests can be seen in the rural areas. With the building activity the habitats of these birds are being destroyed and one has to go deep inside the rural areas to locate these nests.
I live in the area near Panchkula in Haryana where all around were grasslands and cultivated lands. But now these are being gobbled by buildings. Still there are some spaces where I found these birds and their nests. I used canon camera to take some pictures.
Nests hangings from the palm fronds
Baya weaver exiting from nest Bird preparing to enter
