Philetairus socius
You’d probably expect that the bird that is responsible for building the largest nests on earth must be a massive winged behemoth, but you’d be wrong. Meet the Sociable Weaver. Their enormous communal nests, constructed of thorny sticks and dry grass in large, indigenous trees or artificial structures like windpumps and utility poles, house up to 500 adults birds and their chicks and are used for generations – some nests are over a 100 years old and weigh over a tonne! The nests provide excellent insulation from the outside weather, never getting colder than 15°C in winter nor warmer than 30°C in summer. These nests are often also utilised and shared by other kinds of birds and animals.
This Sociable Weaver nest near Twee Rivieren in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park may well be one of the biggest constructions by birds on the planet!
The Sociable Weaver is a small (30g, 14cm) sparrow-like bird endemic to parts of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa’s Free State, Northern Cape and North West Provinces, where they inhabit arid Kalahari savanna and feed on seeds and small insects.
Sociable Weavers don’t breed until after it has rained, which in their distinctly arid range is very unpredictable. While they may not breed at all during severe droughts, in years of good rainfall the monogamous pairs, assisted by chicks from previous broods, may attempt to raise from 4 to as many as 9 clutches of 2-6 chicks each! The youngsters fledge at about 3 weeks old and remain dependent on their parents and their helpers for another 45 days or so after leaving the nest.
As a common species with a stable population, the IUCN considers the Sociable Weaver to be of least concern.
de Wets Wild 
If I didn’t know any better and saw their nests I’d think the tree’s had some type of fungus growth! Amazing nests!
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These constructions really are amazing, Teresa!
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Hey Dries, if you’re still online, the large photo near the top of this post with the huge nest, can I use this in a “Woven” theme post I’ll do very soon and I’ll cherry-pick some facts out of your text if I may. I’ll credit and link back to this post – pls let me know if you’re ok about it?
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You are very welcome to, Liz!
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Some fantastical nests there. I also had not seen nests in a kokerboom.
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While driving around in Augrabies we actually saw quite a few of these – I suppose the lack of other large trees there makes building nests in the Quiver Trees a necessity
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What incredible nests!!!
janet
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Incredible that they’re built by such a small bird!
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Dis sulke dierbare voëltjies. Ek is mal oor hulle. Pragtige foto’s, Dries!
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Baie dankie Dina. Die kalahari sou darem net nie diselfde sonder hulle wees nie!
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The nest in the Quiver tree is particularly interesting as it is fairly unusual to see.
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I was astonished that there was enough greenery protruding from the nest to keep some of these built-up quiver trees photosynthesizing, healthy and growing!
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It’s amazing nest they build!😊 Must be quite heavy for the tree.
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The nests can weigh a thousand kilograms, so seeing branches broken under the weight is not unusual.
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Incredible bird! And I love the pattern of its feathers.
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Wonderful that something so small can achieve something so enormous by working hard and working together!
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Fascinating!
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We think so too!
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This is an amazing bird! It should win some kind of Nobel Peace Prize for birds.
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They do take this social-thing to the extreme, don’t they!?
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