Streaked Weaver

Here is a picture of a bird  from Bali island. On a New Year day last year, I was visiting a resort in the morning. While I was walking to a building at the back area of the resort, I saw a bird in bamboo trees. He was weaving his nest. Perhaps he was preparing it to attract female bird for mating. Because I could not take picture of his face I could only guess that it was a Streaked Weaver (Ploceus manyar).

In Indonesia we call it burung manyar. The front and back yards of the resort were filled with trees that attract birds to stay and even build their nests there. The bird eats grains such as rice that is abundant at the rice fields around the resort complex area. Bali is a nice place for birdwatching. There are a lot of birds to watch.
While guests of the resort were enjoying their breakfast, the weaver bird was busy building his "home." He was not afraid of the presence of humans just a few meters below his nest. by Charles Roring/ E-mail: peace4wp@gmail.com

Scaly Breasted Munia

When I was traveling in Bali island, I was able to see Scaly Breasted Munia (Lonchura punctulata). This bird was perching on a tree inside a resort. The resort was surrounded by rice field. It means that birds that live in the trees inside the resort have got abundant food. I was surprised to see birds were quite common in residential areas of Bali. I also saw some other species inside the resort but I was not able to identify them. They eat rice on the streets that were put by Balinese during their daily offerings to the gods and the spirits. Also the main reason for the abundance of birds in Bali residential areas was the abundance of trees. The Balinese treat trees with great respect. They believe that there are spirits living in the trees. So, they will not cut trees easily. If they have to, they need to perform certain rituals to respect and inform the spirits living in the tree that they will cut it. I really admire this local wisdom because it protects the trees that grow in residential areas. by Charles Roring/ E-mail: peace4wp@gmail.com