Hooded Oriole chicks in nest on banana leaf, Icterus cucullatus. It always amazes me that mamma oriole can weave a nest under a banana leaf! I'm not sure I could do anything close even if I tried! She carefully punctures the leaf and threads anchoring grass in and out of the leaf edges. She then adds mass to make the basket of the nest. Add eggs and voila! The nests must be pretty strong as well since those babies are not at all petite!
This Hooded Oriole pair have nested for several years in my little clump of banana trees. This is the first year they've actually laid eggs, however; so, I considered myself very fortunate to be able to see this. Luckily, they chose a leaf close enough to the ground that I could get the snout of my camera (ahem, lens) in there to snap a picture.
No comments:
Post a Comment