Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Best known for their hanging retort shaped nests woven from leaves. Non-breeding males and females resemble female house sparrows. Breeding males have a bright yellow crown and are darker brown

The breeding male has a bright yellow crown and breast. Its upperparts are dark brown streaked with yellow. The ear-coverts and throat are pale, and the underparts creamy buff. It has a stout conical bill, and a short square-cut tail. The female, and non-breeding male, is dark streaky brown above, plain whitish below. It can be seen in flocks (sometimes of considerable size) in tall grass in areas of open cultivation, and also in reed-beds where it roosts in large numbers. It feeds on rice and other grain, and larger flocks can cause serious damage to crops. Its call is a sparrow- like chit-chit-chit, which breeding males follow up with a long joyous chee-e, often uttered in chorus whilst weaving their nests in a colony. Each nest is a hanging, retort-shaped structure with long vertical downward pointing entrance. It is woven from leaf and grass, suspended from the branches of trees or bushes, usually over water, or around wells in villages. Nests have even been seen hanging from electric fences. This bird is seen around Keezhnathur Eri in Tiruvannamalai.

The Baya is noted chiefly for its wonderful retort shaped hanging nests and for its remarkable breeding biology. The season coincides with the S.-W. Monsoon—chiefly between May and September-—and the consequent availability of paddy plants and coarse saw-edged grasses for building material. The birds build in colonies, occasionally of over 100 nests, on babool or 'ber' trees and date or palmyra palms standing amidst cultivation. The nest with its long entrance tube is commonly suspended over water at heights of between 5 and 40 feet. It is compactly woven with strips of grass or paddy leaf and has a small quantity of mud stuck inside near the egg-chamber, the significance of which is not understood. The male does most of the building. When a nest is nearing completion a female arrives and takes possession of it, and thenceforth the two become husband and wife, she assisting to finish off the interior. As soon as eggs are laid, the male commences another nest close by which in due course is similarly appropriated by a second female. Thus a single cock may have two, three or more nests and wives. The eggs—two to four—are pure white and unmarked. The female alone incubates and is mainly responsible for tending the young.

That of the Sparrow.

Female, and male in non-breeding plumage, very like the female House-Sparrow but with a thicker bill and shorter tail.

The Baya is essentially a bird of open cultivated country. It goes about in flocks, often of considerable size, gleaning paddy, 'jowari' and other seeds on the ground, or invading ripening crops to which it causes a certain amount of damage. Paddy cultivation largely governs the seasonal movements of the bird. Enormous numbers gather to roost in favourite patches of reeds and bulrushes, usually on the swampy margins of tanks. Their call notes are a sparrow-like chit-chit-chit followed by a long-drawn chee-ee uttered in chorus, while the birds are working on their nests.

Flocks, about open cultivation.

Seen in open cultivation, paddy fields, grassland and scrub with scattered trees and mangroves.

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1

IUCN Redlist Status: Least Concern