Africa’s incredible social weaver, about the size of the sparrows, come together in colonies of as many as 500 individuals to build by far the most enormous nests on Earth, at more than 2,000 pounds and 20 feet long by 13 feet wide by 7 feet thick. The structures are so big they can collapse the trees they’re built in, and so well-constructed they can last for a century. Occupying as many as 100 chambers, these are quite possibly the biggest vertebrate societies centered around a single structure—outside of human beings and their skyscrapers, of course.
非洲的群織雀大概和麻雀一般大小。500只群織雀聚居在一起，修建了世界上最大的窩巢——它重達(dá)2000磅，長20英尺，高7英尺。這個(gè)巢穴是如此的巨大，以至于它可以拖垮一棵大樹；而且修建精良可以留存一個(gè)世紀(jì)。巢穴里大約有一百個(gè)房間，這大概是圍繞著一個(gè)中心結(jié)構(gòu)的脊椎結(jié)構(gòu)的社會(huì)了——當(dāng)然，除了人類和他們的摩天大樓。

Calling the semi-arid plains of Namibia and South Africa its home, social weavers make use of several different materials, building the nest by weaving in twig after twig. Then they line the insides of the chambers with luxurious grass and feathers and, occasionally, cotton balls.
以半干燥的納米比亞平原和南非為家，群織雀利用不同種類的材料，一個(gè)樹枝一個(gè)樹枝地織起它們的巢穴。一間間房里鋪著奢華青草和羽毛，偶爾還有棉球出現(xiàn)。

The weavers will pack into the nest’s chambers three or four at a time, and when they do, the benefits of the enormous structure become clear. Winter nights here regularly dip below freezing, even down under 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest places. At one point in his field work Leighton dropped thermal recorders into chambers, which weavers later that day took up residence in.
通常一間房里會(huì)擠進(jìn)3~4只群織雀，而這時(shí)，這個(gè)巨大的建筑的好處就相當(dāng)明了了。冬夜總是凜冽的，在最寒冷的地方有時(shí)甚至?xí)_(dá)到華氏20度。萊頓在鳥巢里放置了一個(gè)熱式記錄儀，而后鳥兒入住了該巢穴。

“I think the nighttime temperature was 30 or 35, and the temperature inside the chamber with three or four birds in it was 70 or 75 degrees Fahrenheit,” he said. “So there’s this really huge thermal benefit to staying in these giant nests.” In the baking summer, too, the chambers provide the birds with a fairly tolerable climate both day and night. Far from the top of the nests, which bake in the sun, the chambers enjoy the shade. And the nest as a whole lags behind the ambient air temperature a bit like a swimming pool, whose waters retain the cool of the evening into the morning and the heat of the afternoon back into the night.
“夜間的溫度大約是30~35華氏度，但是住著三四只群織雀的房間溫度可以達(dá)到70~75華氏度?！彼f，“因此這些巢穴的保溫作用非常明顯。”而在炙熱的炎夏，房間依舊可以為鳥兒提供舒適的環(huán)境。房間遠(yuǎn)離巢頂，就意味著遠(yuǎn)離了太陽而享受音量。而且房間像一個(gè)游泳池一樣把熱空氣隔離開，它會(huì)會(huì)在晚上儲(chǔ)存涼意以抵御白天的熱量。

The perks don’t stop there. According to Leighton, by situating the chamber entrances at the bottom of the nest, the birds also likely protect themselves from predation by hawks flying above. And this positioning also helps keep water out. And from an evolutionary perspective, living in such big groups boosts an individual’s chances of not getting picked off by a predator.
特別待遇還不止這些。萊頓說，鳥兒把房間的門設(shè)在巢穴的底部，這樣它們也可以躲避老鷹的襲擊。而且也可以防止巢穴里的洪澇。而且從進(jìn)化的角度來看，群居降低了它們被捕食的機(jī)會(huì)。

The social weaver’s setup is so sweet that other species are more than happy to squat in their digs. African vultures are fond of hanging out on the roof, and red-headed finches will raise their families in the chambers. But in some time they’ll kill the landlord. “it has been documented that pygmy falcons will sometimes eat social weavers,” said Leighton. “Which is kind of a depressing thought, because social weavers are building and maintaining this giant apartment complex, and then a predator moves in and starts eating them.”
群織雀的巢穴實(shí)在太可愛了，以至于吸引了不少其它的動(dòng)物。非洲禿鷲喜歡把自己掛在屋檐上，紅頭雀會(huì)在房間里養(yǎng)育子女——但有時(shí)它們會(huì)殺掉原本住在里面的群織雀?！坝袡n案記載，紅頭雀有時(shí)會(huì)吃掉群織雀?！比R頓說，“雖然很不愿意這樣說，但是群織雀辛辛苦苦建造、維護(hù)它們的家，然而建成之后侵略者就席卷而來把它們吃掉?！?/div>

That’s not to say social weavers don’t stand up for themselves. Should a snake wander up the tree or a pygmy falcon land on their roof, they’ll crowd around the menace and fire out high-pitched alarm calls—incessantly. While this may scare away smaller birds, it does little good on falcons and serpents.
然而，這并不意味著群織雀不會(huì)奮起反抗。如果有蛇試圖爬上樹來，或者一只紅頭雀逗留在屋頂，它們都會(huì)群擁而出發(fā)出不停地發(fā)出高音警報(bào)。然而這可能會(huì)嚇跑小只一些的鳥兒，卻趕不走紅頭雀和大蛇。

Social weavers can also fall victim to their own success. While some nests may stand for decade after decade, others can get so waterlogged in the rainy season that the trees that support them collapse under the weight. “And actually the nest I was working on, this most recent summer the entire tree just fell over,” said Leighton. “It ruined part of the nest, but some of the tree limbs that are still sticking out of the ground.”
此外，巢穴的成功也有可能給它們帶來危險(xiǎn)。一些巢穴可能會(huì)留存數(shù)十年，因此在雨季會(huì)浸水變重，使得大樹無法承受它們的重量而倒塌?！熬臀已芯康某惭▉砜矗罱粋€(gè)夏天整棵樹都倒塌了?！比R頓說，“這毀掉了巢穴的一部分，但是樹枝仍舊給它以支撐?！?/div>

But oddly enough, in these days of human-induced mass extinction, social weaver populations are actually on the rise. For that they can thank telephone poles, which they’re more than happy to use as artificial trees to build on.If that’s not a good call, I don’t know what is.
但奇怪的是，在人類干預(yù)生物大量消亡的背景下，群織雀的數(shù)量不降反增。這要感謝電線桿的存在——它們現(xiàn)在可以在此筑巢。如果這都不是個(gè)好兆頭的話，我不知道還有什么是了。?