Is it true that the clay joey bird traps unfaithful partners?

Who has never been enchanted by João-de-barro’s houses? This bird native to South America (and typical of Brazil) is known precisely for the houses it builds and is part of the folklore of several regions, being a character of legends. The bird has even become the theme of a song, which became famous in the voice of singer Sérgio Reis.

With that in mind, the awesome.club decided to tell some curiosities about the friendly bird that is famous for being jealous and also for being a good architect. Check it out!

The nest is built together, by male and female — which is known as Ladybug or Maria-de-Barro, among others.

Like good architects, João and Maria build a wall inside the little house; a kind of partition that separates the entrance (a kind of living room) from the nest itself — this to reduce air currents and prevent access by potential predators. After all, every mother knows that it is important to have peace of mind to take care of a newborn.

The construction of the nest takes between 18 days and a month, depending on whether it rains and, therefore, whether there is more or less clay in nature.

Although they are careful in nest building, birds like to vary. They do not usually use the same house for two seasons in a row, seeming to rotate their nests — each couple has two to three houses.

And, although it is a very popular bird for its abilities, the male is famous for being jealous and vengeful, as the song sung by Sérgio Reis suggests.

“Blind with pain, he locked the door of the dwelling
Leaving your beloved prisoner there for the rest of her life”

This fame may have to do with the fact that, with some frequency, chickadees (another well-known bird here in Brazil) take advantage of the hatching period of the João-de-barro to lay eggs in the same nest, leaving for the João the work of raising the little chupins — another ‘victim’ of this chupins practice are the thrush.

The alleged practice of trapping the female in the nest is portrayed not only in the song we mentioned, but is part of many legends. However, scientifically, there is no proof that it occurs.

It is said that there was a man named John. He was very kind and made houses with mud and grass, always taking care to make them in the correct position (facing the sunrise). Very kind, he didn’t charge anything to build houses. But, after so much effort, João ended up dying, exhausted.

Everyone burst into tears because of John’s death. To console them, God created the “João-de-barro”, making his house of clay and grass, always facing the sunrise.

One day, it is said, he fought with Tapera (swallow), who came to dominate him and evicted him from the nest still under construction. The female helped in building the nest, but seems not to have been constant, abandoning the male. João-de-barro would be faithful until the end and, therefore, when he realized that his wife had changed her love, he covered the opening of the house, closing it forever.

Legend has it that in a tribe in the south of Brazil, the young Jaebé fell in love with a girl of great beauty and went to ask her to marry him. Her father asked what proof of strength Jaebé could give to marry the most beautiful girl in the tribe. The young man quickly replied:

— The proofs of my love!

The girl’s father liked the answer, but found the young man bold. The old man said that the last suitor promised to fast for five days, but died on the fourth day. Jaebe challenged:

-I will fast for nine days and I will not die.

Everyone in the tribe was in awe of the young man’s courage.

To start the test, Jaebé was wrapped in a heavy tapir hide and kept under surveillance day and night so that he would not be fed. The girl begged the Moon goddess to keep him alive. Time passed and one morning the daughter asked her father:

“Five days have passed. Don’t let him die.

But the father was reluctant:

“He’s arrogant, he spoke of the forces of love. Let’s see what happens.

On the last night of the test, the girl’s father ordered:

— Let’s see what’s left of the arrogant Jaebé.

When they opened the leather, the young man jumped lightly. His gaze shone, his smile had a magical light. No one could believe that when, on seeing his beloved, the young man began to sing like a bird as he slowly transformed into a tiny bird.

And at that moment the girl, touched by the rays of the moon, also turned into a bird. Both flew and disappeared through the forest. Due to its hard and astute work, the Clay John builds its house with such skill and readiness together with the female.

Do you believe that João is really jealous? Tell it here in the comments 😄