Weavers make up a group of birds that are very easily recognised both by appearance and behaviour by most people in Southern Africa and belong to the genus Ploceidae.

 

The masked weaver male is predominantly yellow, with a black face or mask - hence the name. They resemble finches but are named for their elaborate nest-building expertise. They create an intricate basket nest, woven from grasses, stripped palm leaves and twigs. Nests are round structures designed to hang from a thin branch high in a tree for protection from predators, with the entrance facing the bottom. Weavers are extremely social, noisy and gregarious creatures and nest in large groups. Their nests look like large hanging fruit. The male is the industrious one and builds nests to attract a female. If the female does not approve of the nest, and it is not up to her standard, she will destroy it and he has to start all over again. If however, she does like the nest, she will line it with grass and feathers, and they will raise a family.

One of Nature's Wonders
It is because of this nesting behaviour, that this group of birds is so well known, and indeed their nests are one of the wonders of nature. On examining a weaver's nest, one can only marvel at the fact that a bird, using only its beak, can weave something so intricate and so consistent that we would find it difficult to reproduce it with our hands.

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