Weaver is a type of small bird that usually weaves a hanging nest. There are many kinds of weavers. They live in most parts of the world. The familiar house sparrow found in the United States is a weaver. Weavers eat seeds and grain. They chatter continually. Most females and young weavers are plainly colored. But the males are generally brightly colored during the mating season.
The sociable weaver of South Africa builds an umbrella-shaped community roof of sticks and grass in a tree. The roof may be up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) long and 15 feet (4.6 meters) wide. The underside of the roof is divided into compartments, each occupied by a pair of birds. As many as 95 individual nests have been counted under one roof.
The village weaver of Africa tears palm leaves with its beak and then uses the shredded leaves to weave its nest. The baya weaver of India and Sri Lanka builds a flask-shaped nest with a long tunnel entrance.
