Village weaver on thorn covered branch in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

An avian artisan

Native to sub-Saharan Africa (our friend here is pictured in Uganda), the village weaver has been introduced to places as far-flung as Puerto Rico, Portugal, and Mauritius, to name a few. This male specimen is distinguished by his black head and wings: females’ crowns are yellow and their wing markings less pronounced. The bird gets its name from its delicately woven, teardrop-shaped nests that are suspended from tree branches, with ‘villages’ of numerous nests often clustered in a single tree.