Near to the entrance of the Batey Sur neighborhood of Casa de Campo by the La Romana Country Club golf course, there are two very tall trees – with some special residents. They are beautiful yellow birds popularly known as Madame Sagá (Black Headed Weaver), whose scientific name is Ploceus Cucullatu.
It is very difficult to pass near those trees and not notice their presence, because one of their main characteristics is that they are very noisy, as well as being excellent weavers.
The male and female of this species are very easy to distinguish, the male is yellow with a black head and a green tail, and the female has an olive colored back, yellow wings with a black and pale yellow belly. The juveniles look like the female but are browner on the back.
As well as living in these two trees -which could have hundred birds in each- colonies of Madame Sagá can be found at various locations in Casa de Campo. For example, close by to the Casa de Campo hotel there is a tree with another colony. This is a bird that lives all across the Hispaniola Island and in large quantities.
The nests these birds make are spectacular. Generally pieces are woven with palm leaves – a job done exclusively by the males.
Madame Sagá nest in Casa de Campo
Their reproductive behavior is also very interesting and is directly related to their nests. Males make nests in the same tree, and try
to attract females to the nests hanging upside down while singing loud and moving their wings ostentatiously. When one male attracts a female, she enters the nest, inspects and then accepts or rejects it. Sometimes the female breaks the nest and throws it to the ground. After copulating with a female, the male then dedicates himself to building another nest and courting another female.
The Madamé Saga bird is not endemic to the island. According to studies the Madame Sagá were introduced toHispaniola from Africa hundreds of years ago.
A Madame Sagá Fun Fact
This bird has been the muse for acclaimed songwriter Juan Luis Guerra, who in a song called “The Birds (Los Pajaritos)” he describes a fantastical love affair between a Julian Chiví (another bird found in the Dominican Republic) and a Madame Sagá bird.
Spanish
