Weaver Bird
“Here is a large thatched dwelling, hanging from the branch of a tree, large enough to hold five or six men. It looks as though some people who are afraid of wild heath; among the African jungles have built their house among the trees to escape from them.
But if you look at the bottom of this strange building, you will see that it is full of small round holes, just large enough to admit the body of a bird. Here, then, we have not one nest, but a whole "bird city," where hundreds of birds live together for greater safety.
We might wonder how each can know its own home, among so many that look just alike, but they seem to have no more trouble than we have to find our own house among the multitudes of a large city.
The building is made of strong "Bushman's grass," and it is hung from a branch of the "Giraffe Thorn." This has very hard wood, and so can bear the weight of the structure. Its stem is also very smooth and polished, which makes it hard to climb, and so presents the friendly visits of animals who would like an egg or a young bird for breakfast.
We have been looking at the home of the Sociable Weaver bird. As these birds never brood twice in the same nest, they keep adding to the size of their building, until its weight causes it to fall. But as this usually happens in the rainy season, when the wet adds to its weight, and the brooding season is then over, no damage is done to the birds.
Some kinds of the Weaver bird build their nests singly. Those who do this choose always the end of a small branch or twig, and they are careful to hang the nest over the water, not far from the surface.
Then the mischievous monkey, or any other animal, that is too inquisitive is sure to get a ducking, for his weight draws down the branch and lets him into the water, while all the Weaver birds in the neighborhood scold and peck at him.”
May 10, 1900 EJW, PTUK 299
