One of the coolest things
I saw in Africa was small. Similarly, it’s often the little things that make a
story work.
Less than six inches
long, the Southern Masked Weaver is one of the most fascinating birds I’ve come
across. First, there are the nests. Instead of building their homes on top of
branches, masked weavers make them to hang down. A male weaves a grass nest and
offers it to one of its many mates (or potential mates), who either accepts or
rejects it. I don’t know whether rejecting a nest is the same as rejecting a
suitor or whether the male keeps trying until the female is satisfied. Either
way, it’s an interesting custom.
The birds themselves are
also interesting. Females aren’t very colorful, but the males are. You can tell
that the bird in the second photo is a male by his bright yellow body and—if you
look closely enough—the black mask over his eyes. I don’t know if he is
finishing up the nest or passing food to his mate inside, but the image is
intriguing.
I took the first photo at
approximately 8:00 a.m. in a South Africa parking lot. We were relatively
close, so it’s unfortunate that there were no masked weavers in sight. I took
the second photo around 5:30 p.m. along the banks of the Zambezi River while we
were visiting Zimbabwe, and there were quite a few birds flying around or perched
upside-down on their nests. These nests were in reeds quite a distance away,
and I’m still surprised and pleased that my 300 mm lens picked up this kind of
detail. Although none of my research addressed it, I’m guessing that the time
of day rather than the location was the reason the birds were active during the
second photo but not the first.
Small as they are, the
masked weavers were one of the things that made my trip to Africa special.
Similarly, it is often the little things that add spice to a story to make it
unique or captivating. So when you write, play attention to the “little” incidents,
scenes, and plot points and make them count.
Because the little things
are important, too.
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