From Mikael Karine Trchn

Hello friends, I’m sharing with you this photo of a barn owl that I received from a friend who lives in the desert of southern Africa. Have a great day.

Coucou les amis je vous partage cette photo d une chouette effraie reçu d une amie qui est dans le desert du sud de I Afrique. Passez une chouette journée.

I believe this is a nest made by the Sociable Weaver. These nests are large enough to hold over 100 pairs of weavers, making them possibly the largest bird-made structures.

  • Otter@lemmy.ca
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    1 day ago

    The species builds large, compound, community nests, a rarity among birds. These nests are perhaps the most spectacular structure built by any bird

    (source)

    Learn something new every day, wow :o

    • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 day ago

      I was really surprised reading about the “climate control” provided by the shelter. It looks like it would trap heat, and in a positive way it does. It’s amazing what they have been able to figure out over countless generations.

      • Flemmy@lemm.ee
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        1 day ago

        I think they are fascinating to watch, it’s like a beaver dam in a tree. The barn owls here settle in the dark spots of open roofs I remember they have a distinctive avian smell it’s kind of a gentle smell.

        • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
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          1 day ago

          Oh wow, you’ve gotten to see these in person?

          It’s funny to think all these amazing things we see online and can’t believe they exist are often times just a regular part of other people’s neighborhood area.

          I forget the user, but I remember one Australian here I was talking with, I asked with all their animals that seem extreme to us in North America if there were any American animals they found fascinating and they said squirrels, one of the most mundane and ubiquitous animals here that a lot of people find pesty.

        • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
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          I always wonder how this stuff is passed on. Things like this, or the megapodes or crocodilians that need to keep eggs at precise temps, I have no idea either how they would ever figure it out, determine that there is causality, and then pass it on.

          • Otter@lemmy.ca
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            22 hours ago

            Evolution is fun like that, I wonder what the other variations were like before the evolved this particular way

            • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
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              20 hours ago

              Exactly! There’s still a huge difference between a bunch of nests next to each other and this.

              The more cool facts I kept reading about the nests, I started picturing it as the bird version of a Dyson Sphere. 😆

              • Otter@lemmy.ca
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                19 hours ago

                bird version of a Dyson Sphere. 😆

                I’d watch a movie with that premise 😄