Small bird with massive nest – SA’s Bird of the Year

“Bird of the Year” is one of Bird Life S.A.’s (a non-profit organisation) annual initiatives to create awareness about birds and bird habitat conservation.
The Bird of the Year for 2016 is the Sociable Weaver (see photograph).
The Sociable Weaver is an icon of South Africa’s arid zones and one of the drawcards that attracts people to the Kalahari.
The Sociable Weaver is a small light brown bird with a grey bill and a black face mask and belongs to the weaver family of birds.
The black scales on the flanks and back are further unmistakable features. The male and female birds look alike, except that the female has a slightly smaller face mask.
Sociable Weavers are endemic to South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. They are strongly associated with the arid savannahs, characteristic of the southern and western Kalahari region. The area is semi-arid with low, unpredictable rainfall in summer. The presence of stiff grasses, an important nesting material, is a determinant of their distribution. The population is described as common and abundant.
These birds are insectivorous, with insects comprising 80% of their diet. As an adapta-tion to living in these dry areas, where surface water is scarce, they obtain all their water from a diet of insects. They also feed on seeds and other plant products. Foraging is mainly on the ground, but also on barks and leaves of trees.
What is most amazing of these birds is the nest that they build. They hold the record for building the largest nest in the world (see photograph). Such a nest can reach 7m in diameter, 4m in height and can weigh nearly a ton. They build an enormous communal nest in trees, or if forced to do so, on a series of telephone poles. These giant grassy communes can have a lifespan of over 100 years, housing many successive generations and accommodate up to 500 birds at one time. The nests are built to regulate temperature, keeping the air cool in summer and warm in winter.
Each breeding pair builds a nest chamber in this super structure. As the colony expands, new chambers are added to the edges of the structure.
There is a round, cosy nesting chamber at the end of the entrance tunnel, lined with soft material. This most spectacular structure resembles a haystack hanging in a tree.
Other birds living in the same area may occupy empty chambers in the structure. Among them are Pygmy Falcons, Red-headed Finches and Pied Barbets.
Breeding time for these birds may be any time of the year and is closely linked to rainfall.
They may even skip breeding during years when the rainfall is too low. A breeding pair will occupy the nest chamber that they have constructed, sometimes with their offspring, to roost and breed.
Two to three eggs are laid and both members of the breeding pair take turns incubating the eggs for 13 – 14 days. Chicks are fed by both parents and other helpers in the colony until they are independent after three weeks. Most pairs may breed up to 4 times each year, spending most of their time feeding these chicks. The most dangerous time in the lives of these birds is when they are chicks in the nest. Some 70% of baby birds are killed and eaten by snakes like Cape Cobra and Boomslang.
(Information for this article was resourced from: The Internet and photographs from Google Images.)