Weaving Experts in Nature

The weaver bird first collects the material it will use. The bird either cuts long, thin strips out of fresh, green leaves or it makes use of the middle vein of the leaves. Surely, it has a reason for using these fresh leaves. It would be difficult for the bird to handle material from dry leaves and to use them in weaving, whereas such processes are carried out very easily with fresh leaf fibers. The bird begins the work by first of all wrapping the end of a long strip, torn from a leaf, around a twig. Holding one end of the strip against the twig with one foot, it works the other end with its beak.

In order to prevent the fibers from falling down, it attaches them together by tying a knot. First, the bird makes a loop. This is the entrance to its nest. Then, using its beak like a shuttle, it passes the leaf fibers over and under the other fibers in an orderly way. The bird must calculate how taut it should pull each strip during the process of weaving because, if the weaving is loose, the nest will collapse away. In addition, it must envisage the final shape of the nest so it can decide when the walls of the nest should be curved or be given an outward-projecting shape.

After weaving the entrance, the bird begins to weave the walls of the nest. To do this, it hangs downwards and continues to work from inside the nest. With its beak, it pushes one fiber under another and then holds the free end of fiber and pulls it tightly. Thus, very orderly weaving is formed.

As noted above, the weaverbird always works by following certain steps while building its nest. First, it collects the most appropriate material for the nest. It does not begin to weave its nest from a randomly chosen point but first makes an entrance and continues to build the walls from there. It is certainly impossible to claim that the weaverbirds have acquired these skills by unconscious coincidences. The fact that the weaverbirds also, like all other creatures, act through the inspiration of Allah is an evident fact that every man of reason and consciousness can easily see.