The male Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus) builds the nest up to the helmet stage, collecting materials and weaving the pieces together. He then gets his mate to approve the structure. Only then will the bulbous egg-chamber and the long pendulous entrance tube be completed. This final stage of building sees both adults participating.
The image by Calvin Chang a.k.a. Deswitch shows the pair bringing strips of grass blades and/or palm leaflets to complete the nest building (above left). That by Jimmy Tan a.k.a. skylark shows the pair hard at work completing the egg-chamber (above right).
Earlier posts can be viewed HERE and HERE.
Image above left by Calvin Chang and right by Jimmy Tan.
This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.
Eileen
Awesome photos of the nes building in progress. The nest are similiar to the Northern Oriole I see here.
Dan
Image by Calvin shows 2 birds with yellow crowns meaning 2 males. 2 males building a single nest?
Correct me if I’m wrong. Or is it the same male with 2 images merged into 1?
Tabib
I think that a merged image in the (L) picture, the same male.
Never seen two male working for same nest. Male and female working together like the (R) pic.
YC
Yes, same male, sequence shots…
Calvin
That’s right, my photo is merged from 2 sequencial shots. Sorry for the confusion
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[…] of how Baya Weaver (Ploceus philippinus) males had to build elaborate nests to attract females LINK. And if the ladies were not impressed with what they saw, they did not hesitate to literally trash […]