When you’re outside and come across a nest, are you one of those people who stop and check it out? Are you curious to see how the birds built it, what materials they used, and all the little details? Well if you have even the slightest curiosity when it comes to birds nests, then you’re going to be mesmerized when you see the massive nests these birds made in South Africa.
The nests can weigh more than a ton, and over the course of many years, the giant nests are home to hundreds of tiny sociable weaver birds. The male birds build the nests using the preexisting telephone poles or on the ground using the many twigs and sticks and dry grass available throughout South Africa. The nests are a way for the male birds to attract a mate.
During a recent visit to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in Northern Cape, South Africa, 60-year-old Ann Toon, and her 56-year-old husband Steve captured photographs of the impressive weaver nests and shared the images online for all to consume.
Although there are few trees in the dry landscape, the birds adapted and used the telephone poles to build their nests. These nests can grow to house as many as 500 birds because the weaver birds love to live in large colonies.
The nests not only contain different chambers for the different activities of the weaver birds’ lives, but they are also insulated, protecting the birds from the devastating 104-degree temperatures that are reached during the hot days.
These nests can grow to be 13 feet in height as the birds continue to make additions. The birds themselves are much smaller than the structure they call home, measuring just about five and a half inches in length on average.
When the Toons saw the weaver bird nests, they were “fascinated and awestruck.”
The nests are so big and well built that they resemble a thatched roof of a hut.
Viewers of the images, which were shared on Daily Mail’s website, shared dozens of comments about the bird’s amazing abilities. The following were just a sample of what people like you had to say.
“Amazing and very diverse abilities that God gave all species.”
“Talk about living close to your neighbors! I’m also imagining how much noise they produce during daylight hours. Nothing I’d want to live near, but very impressive building skills.”
“They build these large conical nests swaying upside down from the lightest branches. Just a tiny bird, quite amazing.”
“I find this hilarious. Birds are like, ‘WDGAF! Telephone poles, roadside signs, we call them home!’”
These birds are quite amazing in their ability to adapt to their environment, despite humanity’s intervention.
What do you make of the weaver birds’ ability to make their nests on telephone poles?