About tying knots, and undoing them ....

What does Penelope of Ithaca and the finch weaver have in common..?

It seems to be a question of weaving and tying knots!

And then undoing the lot!



"Weaver birds are the architects of the bird world. Designs and neatness of construction vary widely among the different species.

Some are simple and scruffy, with a small tube and roundish nests.
Other species build much more elaborate nests, with the strands of grass carefully interwoven to form a well-defined structure.

The main part is a hollow sphere, lined with nesting material, accessed through a long tube which has a small entrance hole.

The nests are usually tough and well-secured so a high wind will not blow them down.
The best weaver birds have the ability to tie dozens of different shaped knots and loops for which they use their feet as well as beaks.

Among most weavers, the male takes sole responsibility for initial building of the nest.
The nest is built before the male gets a partner, so he uses his "love-nest" to entice a female, who is likely to be very fastidious.

If his efforts fail and the disinterested female flies off, the male will try again.

A week without success and he petulantly dismantles the entire edifice and begins again in the same spot, in the hope of better luck.

In anticipation of failure, the male ties the knots loosely because, like Penelope of Ithaca, he may want to undo his laborious construction.

If he succeeds, his fussy partner will see to the interior decoration with grass and other soft materials."


About the clever Penelope of Ithaca:

"Penelope waited two decades for her husband Odysseus to return to Ithaca from the Trojan War, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.

In the meantime, she was compelled to promise the scoundrels that called themselves her SUITORS and who were at the same time the pick of the Ithacan nobility, that she would wed one of them when the shroud of Laertes (her father's father) was finished.

She wove it for three years, weaving it by day and undoing it by night."

And that is the story.