Taveta Golden Weaver

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, everyone!

It has been about a year and a half since I last went to the Calgary Zoo. The parking lot that I always parked in has been closed since then, because of road construction and the replacement of a bridge over the Bow River. I don't think it will all be finished till late this year and, by then, 'my" parking lot will close all winter. Hopefully, I'll once again be able to visit sometime in 2018.

This photo was taken when I finally got to the Calgary Zoo, on 28 September 2014. I hadn't been since before the Alberta Flood of the Century in June 2013, which devastated the Zoo and made it necessary to close the Zoo for many months. Several of these small, colourful birds had made nests that were hanging from the leaves of a tropical plant in the Tropical building. Each bird looked like it just couldn't stop weaving, as it carefully, but quickly, chose long, narrow strands of leaf and wove the ends of other leaves together in such a meticulous way.

"The Taveta weaver (Ploceus castaneiceps) is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania. The name of the bird comes from the unique markings/coloration of the bird, as well as how these birds weave intricate nests.

The male Taveta weaver is a vibrant golden yellow color; this color is duller on its back. The wings and tail are a greener color, whereas brown spots are located on the chest. The back of the head is red, and the bill, or beak, is black. The female is an olive color with paler streaks. In general, the Taveta weaver is a small bird, around the size of the finch and closely related to the sparrow.

These birds live in large groups, or colonies. Weavers often make a unique—often described as "weird"—noise to communicate. Male weavers build extravagant oval nests over water attached to stems of reeds or grasses. The Taveta weavers lay two or three glossy, dark, olive-green eggs. The female bird chooses who she will mate, depending on how impressed she is with a male's skill to construct a nest." From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taveta_weaver