He built this nest in anticipation of attracting a mate.
With his nest completed, this Southern Masked Weaver in bright breeding plumage, is displaying by flapping his wings and spreading his tail while hanging below his nest, in expectation of attracting a mate.
This nest was built on a branch of a fever tree (Vachellia xanthophloea) in our suburban garden in South Africa. ★
Posted by Carol letting nature back in
Weekly photo challenge: Anticipation
letting nature back in 
July 10, 2017 at 1:51 pm
These guys are amazing! I’d never seen a weaver bird or their nests before until we visited Malaysia. The trees were full of them! Such a wonderful sight. https://zoomologyblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/29/the-baya-weaver-one-way-to-please-her-become-a-master-weaver/
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July 10, 2017 at 1:59 pm
Thanks for the link. Yes, they are amazing, and I never tire of watching them.
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January 21, 2017 at 5:23 pm
Wow, amazing image and spectacular engineering by the bird. I love birds’ nests and never cease to be amazed by their skill and dexterity.
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January 22, 2017 at 5:57 am
Yes they are feats of engineering. And added to skill and dexterity is amazing perseverance in building the nest.
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December 24, 2016 at 10:41 am
Striking image with attaching inspirations. Well done!
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December 24, 2016 at 2:28 pm
Thank you Rommel. I appreciate your comment.
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December 20, 2016 at 9:15 pm
Our swimming pool bears witness to the relentless stripping of the branches of the pompom trees and the blades of grass that never actually made it to the nest building. I often think too that our garden is the ‘testing ground’ for the nest builders!
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December 21, 2016 at 5:49 am
The weavers here use a Natal palm with so many fronds that whatever they use is not noticeable. You must have some lovely robust grasses for them to use. By pompom trees do you mean Dais cotinfolia? Strange how they expend so much energy “practising” nest building.
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December 21, 2016 at 8:00 am
I do mean Dais cotonifolia – we have masses of them growing in ur garden, many of them are self-seeded.
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December 21, 2016 at 2:17 pm
They are lovely trees. We have two, but I have never seen the weavers here using them for nesting material.
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December 19, 2016 at 8:46 am
Wow! He should attract a discerning home-maker with that.
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December 19, 2016 at 8:54 am
Sad to say, the success rate of the weavers in our garden is not high, despite their hopeful and hardworking anticipation. Perhaps they just use our garden for honing their nest-building and courtship skills?
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December 18, 2016 at 11:09 pm
Wow, what an amazing image! What wonder of the natural world!
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December 19, 2016 at 4:39 am
Thanks Pete. The weaver’s nest building never ceases to amaze. Incredibly, the males seem to destroy a high percentage of their completed nests before they are used.
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