Weaving an Intricate Courtship Ritual: Baya Weavers

Weaving an Intricate Courtship Ritual: Baya Weavers

The Baya weaver (Ploceus philippinus) is a weaverbird found across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Flocks of these birds occur in grasslands, cultivated areas, scrub and secondary growth, and are best known for their beautiful hanging nests. Their biological clock starts ticking with the onset of southwest monsoon in the landscape. As we biked around, we spotted many intricately-woven nests in different stages of completion, mostly on Palmyra trees. Tall thorny shrubs like Acacia, staggering alongside waterbodies were also decked with these ornaments. Once a location is selected, the male Baya weaver starts looping and weaving strings of leaves, strips of grasses and palm fronds to build a retort-shaped nest. He has to fascinate the female with his architectural abilities to win her over. The birds use their strong beaks to strip and collect the strands and to weave and knot them while building their nests. One can perhaps spend hours observing them in their element, carefully and delicately weaving a safe home, making several trips (upto 500!) to gather materials. The males build partial nests (helmet nests) and begin to display to passing females by flapping their wings and calling while hanging from their nests. The females inspect the nest and signal their acceptance of a male. Once a male and a female are paired, the male goes on to complete the nest with a central nesting chamber and a long vertical tube that leads to a side entrance to the chamber. If, however, a nest is not selected, the male often starts building another nest at the base of the older one. We found several nests that were ‘storeyed’. No two nests are similar in their architecture. Each has its own beauty, still, they do not vary much in their measurements. This is how nature maintains unity in diversity.