Baya Weavers: Nest building and after
Posted by BESG on 6 June 08, Friday
Contributed by James Wong
James Wong a.k.a. Jw73 spent three years documenting the nesting behaviour of the Baya Weavers (Ploceus philippinus) using 500mm and 600mm telephoto lenses so as not to disturb the birds unnecessarily and shares his images in this post.
The male (top) appears to do most of the work, collecting strips of grass and weaving the pieces into a ‘helmet’ stage with a perch at the base (above left). Lumps of mud are collected and placed in the lower portion of the nest in an effort to stabilise it. He then invites a female to inspect it and if she is satisfied he will proceed to complete the nest (above right).
The female will enter the uncompleted nest to lay her eggs while the male will add on the downward-pointing entrance tube (above left). It would appear that incubation and brooding is by the female alone. Once the eggs are hatched, the female will forage for insects to feed the chicks (above right and below).
This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.
All images by James Wong a.k.a. Jw73.
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Categories: Nesting
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