Weaver birds are skilled nest builders. They can build intricate and elegant nests by looping together blades of grass. In Africa, the social weavers take nest construction even further. Together, a colony can build a huge communal nest in the desert, where they live all year round. But how has this particular behaviour evolved?
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References:
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Collias NE. The evolution of nests and nest-building in birds. Integr Comp Biol 1964;4:175-190.
van Dijk RE, et al. The thermoregulatory benefits of the communal nest of sociable weavers Philetairus socius are spatially structured within nests. J Avian Biol 2013;44:102-110.
Medina I. The role of the environment in the evolution of nest shape in Australian passerines. Sci Rep 2019;9:5560.
Price JJ & Griffith SC. Open cup nests evolved from roofed nests
in the early passerines. Proc Biol Sci 2017;284:20162708.
Duursma DE, et al. Variation in avian egg shape and nest structure is explained by climatic conditions. Sci Rep 2018;8:4141.
Perez DM, et al. Climate as an evolutionary driver of nest morphology in birds: a review. Front Ecol Evol 2020; doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.566018.
Lloyd KJ, et al. Factors affecting the foraging distance and duration of a
colonial bird, the sociable weaver, in a semi-arid environment. Afr J Ecol 2017; doi: 10.1111/aje.12484.
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23 май 2021
