African Golden Weaver Bird (female) © Val J. Lee
The African Golden (or yellow) Weavers, Ploceus subaureus, are intricate artisans! Males are the architects and constructors of painstakingly weaved creations. Bird lovers are enthralled when they gaze upon their ingenuity. These creations are their renown, fostering the best African environment for their young … an exquisite, rounded green tree house. God manufactured each and every bird, and He knows which nest will best accommodate each species in regard to their composition and environment.
I am set in awe observing homes of breeding aves. Complex engineering capabilities have been implanted in each bird, classified as “Weavers” or not. Jesus Christ is absolutely awesome in His wonders. The songs, flight and nesting distinctions of flyers are worth our observation time.
My video shows an African Golden Weaver and Weaver nests:
The Golden male who wants to make the plunge into fatherhood, will build one of these remarkable rounded nests which dangles from a tree. This caring, feathered, father to be, is most selective regarding the timber, foreseeing the fact, African tribesmen and their male young hunt for the eggs of Weavers for food. God instilled wisdom in this bird so he can avoid humans, animal predators and weather obstacles. A Weaver will selects a tree that is covered in biting insects, including ants. Who or what would want to venture near?
He begins his home plot with one long blade of grass, which he snips at ground base with his black beak, and in which, he carries it away to a limb where he ties it securely. His beak and balancing skills are his tools of necessity, implemented for every aspect of his love nest.
Dad-to-be must carefully sew each blade of grass—the thread, with his beak—the needle. This might be reminiscent of a young lady sewing a wedding dress by hand. He eventually forms a nest hole entrance, using his head as a guide for size (no tape-measure is ready-handy) for the doorless portal which will be placed at the base of the home, that must not be too large or predators can see in and get in. Absolutely, no windows.
Snakes also are unable to slither in with this type of architectural style; they drop to the ground having no support while they attempt to reach. A bottom-holed nest also protects from the strong flooding African rains. A regular nest, cradle-like, would flood over and over again.
The rounded nest requires hundreds of blades of grass, woven tightly together to make it durable. These homes are winsome; you could put a price tag on each one.
This nest crafting requires a great deal of practice and sometimes the nest falls, through lack of fatherly experience.
Male suitors know an eligible lady will be most particular about the nest she chooses. Her design is mainly on the green nest (and it must be fresh and green), not the male carpenter suitor. I mean, of course, she is going to place her unhatched babies in it and they will be nurtured and raised within. It must be of the finest, practical art form.
(Birds who have never had previous families know the cycle of procreation; God has laid it in their hearts and minds as the Bible teaches—Jeremiah 8:7)
The male courtier will wave his wings and call out, to get a gal’s attention after the nest is completed. If the gal is a bit interested, she will inspect the complex grass hut to see if it is suitable for a family. Often times a male’s arduous work will be rejected to his deep disappointment. He will simply have to untie the nest, letting it drop; and then, will begin again the tedious construction with hundreds of more blades of grass to be sewn in hopes of future acceptance. (It must drop to the ground, owning it will turn brown and a female will not choose a brown nest. Plus he must rebuild in his territorial, branch site with his fellow Golden, feathered friends.) Don’t feel too sorry for the young fellow, outside of forging for his daily diet—insects, seeds, and nectar, this is all he has to do.
Mom-to-be does have her small part involving the nest. She lines it with soft grasses and down to protect her precious wee ones, she being the one who truly wants them in soft snugness. Any mother can relate to down baby comforters.
God has implanted in female birds just the right time for their laying. It would be harmful for expecting birds to hold within the growing eggs beyond God’s perfect prescription. He knows the perfect timing for the womb process of release. Of course, this is true of humans as well. A woman does not want to be carrying a 50 pound baby around in her belly. A child appears when it is done in the its mother’s oven.
When the two to four durable, Golden Weaver light blue eggs are laid, Mom will solely incubate them.
God protects His vulnerable creation including bird mommies. This is what He commanded in the Old Testament regarding bird eggs or hatchlings and snatching.
Deuteronomy 22:6-7: “If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, in order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.”
A Golden Weaver mother may experience deception from an Diederik Cuckoo Bird. Her laid eggs may include an egg from this hoodwinking flyer. The Cuckoo often engages in brood parasitism—placing its eggs in other bird nests. (Only God truly understands the heart of parasitism birds—birds who want others to raise their babies. God does create some animal life to make us laugh.) I guess they don’t feel they have the time to build a home and raise a family, or are simply too lazy to do so. The scoundrels will use the mothering instincts of the Golden Weavers for their selfish benefit. They place their egg in a Golden’s nest, disposing of a Weaver egg when mom is away foraging for food. Cuckoos are aware of the counting abilities afforded to all birds by God.
Mothers know the cry of their hatched young. They recognize the voice of their mate and nearby nesting birds. When a baby Golden becomes extremely hungry and wants Mom to know, it bellows its voice, creating a strange, unusual racket. The hatchling wants Mom to feel sorry for it so she will get on the move with food. Sound familiar? This fact came to light through a German and Swiss ornithologists’ study of Golden Weavers.
Cute Cat Alfredo © Val J. Lee
Recently, my husband and I went on vacation. We left plenty of food and water for our cute cat, Alfredo. Also our son came by to check on him. When we returned home, after being away more than two weeks, Alfredo voiced the most mournful cries. Never had we heard such expressions speak from him previously. It tore our hearts. He was extremely elated to see us; yet he wanted us to know he did not like us leaving him! Many love scratchings and hugs did calm him down.
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God wisely implements a female bird to address unfaithfulness in the Bible—Proverbs 27:8, “Like a bird who wonders from her nest, so is a man who wonders from his home.” Of course, if a mother ave were to lose her way, taking a too distant flight, and not locating her homeward course, she could not nourish her needy young. She would be left in deep and sad distress, crying rapid bird calls that her doomed chicks cannot hear.
A man who chooses to be unfaithful to his wife and leaves her and their children, carries no wisdom or godly faithfulness. He acts like a fish out of water so to speak, being one who has abandoned his home for what he believes to be great party times. But he is blind to the fact his life is torn into pieces and he will pay the consequences the rest of his life. The wife and children grieve the most. Such a departure leaves lifetime scars. I have a friend and her son-in-law left her beautiful daughter and their sons to do his own thing. Today, many years hence, he says it was the worst decision he ever lived out. His life became a mess, like a nest fallen to the ground.
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Male Golden Weavers are bright yellow, and they display a tinge of orange on the head. Females are light brown with a lighter underside, and possess pink-brown beaks. They are native to south and east Africa. Their lifespan is a quandary.
Here, I must divulge, I did not shoot the photo and video in Africa. That would have been great if possible. I have only viewed Africa from afar, and that was when peering at its Northern end from Gibraltar. I do have a cousin, once removed, who served as a missionary in Africa the majority of her life. She has been significantly used of God, introducing many to Jesus Christ. She now lives in a retirement area for missionaries in Sebring, Florida. My husband, other family members and myself visited her in Sebring several years ago. She regally put on the food spread, and entertained us with her stories!
When she first ventured to the mission field, her hut was adjacent to a cannibal graveyard. She rode her bike to get about with God’s message of eternal hope. (to understand eternal hope, please click on “Letter to Bird Enthusiast” on right bar within “Categories,” above.)
When she was on furlough in the states, she would teach children the Good News of Jesus Christ. She has never been one to sit around and neglect God’s message. She is now 98 years of age.
The Animal Kingdom in Orlando is where I took the photo and shot the video, in the African aviary. This theme park houses many interesting species of beasts, many of them African.
Letter to the bird Enthusiast: letter-to-bird-enthusiast
*Info gathered from various websites.
A detailed, educational BBC video link of the Weaver:
Birds Through Val Lee's Looking Glass 