Streaked Weaver

Watching a Streaked Weaver colony take shape—and asking whether these eastern birds were Ploceus manyar peguensis On 23 May, I went to the nearest bird watching area near my house, in there a lot of reed beds were present and I always thought of getting weavers in that. Now on that day , the reed bed seemed to change character in a matter of hours. In the morning I first noticed two Streaked Weavers moving in and out of the reeds with a Baya Weaver nearby. By afternoon, the traffic had increased. A male was carrying fibres, stopping at selected reed leaves, and the first rough wad of a nest had begun to take shape. ...

During the pre-monsoon season, on a cloudy day in May, I went bird watching in a local patch. Monsoon is breeding season for many birds in West Bengal. I first spotted some lesser whistling ducks perched on a wall, which was delightful to observe. Suddenly, I heard distinctive calls from baya birds. Following the sounds, I discovered a reed bed with tall grasses where several streaked weaver birds were busily constructing nests. I checked the birds for some time and then left them so they can carry out their work. ...