Tailor Bird: (Top Chara - Damai Chara - A Nepali Name): There is no equality where bird nests are concerned. From a simple depression in the earth to complex patterns, birds’ homes vary from species to species. Unlike humans for whom constructing a house is usually a life-time achievement, for birds, building a nest is a mundane exercise, usually carried out every mating season.
The most elaborate of nests is built by the weaver bird (common tailor bird). Often found suspended from branches of trees – the thorny acacia is a favourite – the nests are precisely sewn and neatly neatly laid out.
It’s only the male which is involved in building nests, and the process starts well ahead of the breeding season which falls between May and December. The males first scout for a location safe from predators – usually branches which hang over abandoned wells. The birds test the strength of the branches by pulling on it and hanging from it for several hours.
The birds then collect materials such as paddy leaves, rough long grass and torn palm fronds and make as many as 500 trips for these materials. The egg chamber, the center portion of the nest, is built first. Mahammed Dilawar, founder of Nature Forever society, says the birds use their sharp beaks to weave the long natural fibre together.
“The fibre is passed through others in several ways, the process resembling mechanically sewing, riveting, lacing and matting,” Dilawar said. “This is done to form a knot and provide stiffness to the nest. Wherever it becomes difficult to bend the fibres, they are replaced by broad leaves especially at the top of the nest to prevent rain water from entering in.”
A cylindrical retort-like structure is then built at both ends. While the top end is woven to make a cone from which the entire nest is suspended from the branch, the lower portion offers passage to the egg chamber.
Bird-watcher Sunil says, “While it takes 20-25 days to complete the nest, the basic structure is finished in a week’s time. The males then attract a female which inspects the nest. The female may or may not fall for the nest. The female eventually adds the finishing touches to the interior.”
The most elaborate of nests is built by the weaver bird (common tailor bird). Often found suspended from branches of trees – the thorny acacia is a favourite – the nests are precisely sewn and neatly neatly laid out.
It’s only the male which is involved in building nests, and the process starts well ahead of the breeding season which falls between May and December. The males first scout for a location safe from predators – usually branches which hang over abandoned wells. The birds test the strength of the branches by pulling on it and hanging from it for several hours.
The birds then collect materials such as paddy leaves, rough long grass and torn palm fronds and make as many as 500 trips for these materials. The egg chamber, the center portion of the nest, is built first. Mahammed Dilawar, founder of Nature Forever society, says the birds use their sharp beaks to weave the long natural fibre together.
“The fibre is passed through others in several ways, the process resembling mechanically sewing, riveting, lacing and matting,” Dilawar said. “This is done to form a knot and provide stiffness to the nest. Wherever it becomes difficult to bend the fibres, they are replaced by broad leaves especially at the top of the nest to prevent rain water from entering in.”
A cylindrical retort-like structure is then built at both ends. While the top end is woven to make a cone from which the entire nest is suspended from the branch, the lower portion offers passage to the egg chamber.
Bird-watcher Sunil says, “While it takes 20-25 days to complete the nest, the basic structure is finished in a week’s time. The males then attract a female which inspects the nest. The female may or may not fall for the nest. The female eventually adds the finishing touches to the interior.”
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