On the way to Windhoek (story to follow), this. Giant nests, maybe 6 feet across
They’re built by the sociable weaver (Philetairus socius). It’s the only species in the genus. From wiki
They build large compound community nests, a rarity among birds. These nests are perhaps the most spectacular structure built by any bird.
Picture of the bird from the web
There’s a famous hotel in Namibia that’s architecturally fashioned after the social weaver nests, and fittingly it’s called The Nest. Stunningly beautiful, the rooms start at $1700 CDN a night. For pictures, click the link to the hotel site.
And these nests. Impossible to identify the bird from this, as there are 22 species of weaver bird in Namibia
And another cluster, in town
There was this, an empty Tafel bottle. We’ve all tried to get beer bottles stuck in trees, not so easy eh, so well done this guy
Now, a weaver bird actually seen. The community nests
A pair
A fellow building a nest. The male builds the main structure, the female lines it with softer comfy material.
It’s the southern masked weaver (Ploceus velatus)