The Spectacular Nests of the Sociable Weaver
Sunday, 2 September 2018
Yet most species of birds do indeed make nests and they come in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps the most spectacular of all these is that created by a rather plain looking African bird, the sociable weaver (also known more simply as the social weaver).
They sociable weaver male is small – about 14cm (that’s 5.5 in) in length – and brown. It is by no means unattractive – it has black barring on its back, a black chin and a nicely scalloped back. As for the female… it’s identical. They are not sexually dimorphic and to the naked eye the male and female are indistinguishable. They may not stand out in a crowd, as it were, but as you can see their nests are another thing entirely.