Like me, you will probably be glued to the screen today, anxiously awaiting results from the US election. It’s a stressful time, and in these times it’s important to remember that there are birds, and they do some pretty cool things. So please enjoy this bonus bird as a small reminder that no matter what happens there are always delightful things in the world.
First, let me show you this haystack that found its way into a tree.
Just how did that dang thing get up there? Well, it is the work of not one bird, but maybe something like 400 birds. This is the nesting site of the Sociable Weaver (Philetairus socius).
This small, sparrow-like bird lives in the Kalahari Desert. Here the temperature soars to scorching level through the day and dips to freezing at night. To survive, these little weavers band together and build massive lodging houses capable of sheltering hundreds of birds. Their elevated haystack provides shade during the day and insultation at night. All members share in the work, shoving one blade of straw in at a time.
Inside, the structure is broken up into many private apartments. Some apartments belong to families with the parents sitting on eggs or raising chicks. Others are uni share houses, where young or non-breeding birds bunk together to stay warm and save money with a shared Netflix account.
These nests are maintained by the community generation after generation. Like all millennials, the only chance they have at home ownership is to inherit their parents’ apartment.
Some individual nests have been known to stay active for over 100 years. Of course, sometimes, these little guys get a bit ambitious and build their stack so big it overwhelms the tree and crashes to the ground. But hey, you can always pick up the pieces and start again.
Alone these birds could never survive in their desert home but working together they not only thrive but construct one of the greatest sights in the bird world. Not bad for a tiny bird.
03/11/2020
Bird of the Week 