ALTER IDEM

I'm an unabashed admirer of birds......especially, their nest building skills. Earlier on, I had made an attempt to record the happenings at a bulbul's nest ( Here ). Unfortunately, things hadn't proceeded as expected and the fairy tale ended even before it began.  Since then, whenever I see a pair of birds building a nest in our garden, I pray that things work out smoothly, and leave the birds alone. However, a few days ago, it was a little too difficult for me to ignore. A pair of bulbuls had chosen to build their nest on the Bird's Head Birthwort creeper....almost touching the window of my office-cum-study. Paragon of patience   I tried to be as non-intrusive as possible as I watched all the comings and goings whenever I could. When the comings and goings became less frenzied, I realised that the nest was ready and the eggs had been laid. My vantage point provided me with a rear view of the bird, and I couldn't stop myself from taking this pic!! ...

Birds do not have ears .... but, I'm sure, they could hear each other.... the mother, and the baby-sunbird.... Let me explain.... Today, for the first time, I had to chase a bird from inside our home! I was cooking lunch and had to take a call at my home-office. On returning, I saw a tiny, panicky female sun-bird fluttering about in great confusion! It seemed like this little one had just learned how to fly... and, had somehow managed to give her mother the slip! It was quite disturbing to watch the confusion.... the cheeping bird inside and the cheeping bird outside. If only I could speak the bird language..... I was quite sure that the bird would be smart enough to catch wind movements, and opened all the windows. I was wrong!! Tired, after about twenty minutes of non-stop flying, she began to take tiny breaks on accessible (to me) ledges. That was when I decided to capture and release her.... You know, there is this plastic container in the kitchen that is a re...

In most Indian folk tales, the crow is portrayed as a cunning, thieving villain. And, when Uncle Pai created Kalia , he broke the tradition.  Kalia , the clever crow, was always doing good things like helping out creatures in distress -  NEVER the villain....  The crow is the vehicle of Shani (Saturn) - the planet that is supposed to cast evil on one's life.  Perhaps, for this reason, it is considered to be a symbol of bad omen.......  As with the colour black -  the colour of the crow and the colour associated with Shani . For the same reason, children who collect birds' feathers are forbidden from bringing the crow's feathers inside homes (especially if grandmas are around!). To add to its list of woes, the crow has such clumsy ways and an unpleasant cry. Even the nest it builds is shabby when compared to the nests of other birds.You know, many a time, I have felt quite sorry for the crow. Misplaced sympathies!! The crow is indeed a bad bird!...

These days, I wake up...no,.. am woken up... at 5 - 5.15 in the morning...by the cuckoos. Such noisy birds! I'm sure, all the poets who praise the cuckoo's 'melodious' voice have never had to live near them! Or, maybe, they're sound sleepers!! You know, the cries of the male and the female cuckoo are different. While the male's is the extended 'koo....ooo' (the celebrated cry!), the female's is a quick, curt, 'kukukukuk...'. And, though you can hear them, it is very difficult to catch sight of these elusive birds, especially the female. And, they are birds that seem to stick to a regular routine - a sort of a time table. Maybe, that's why, the clock makers decided to make a 'cuckoo clock' instead of a 'parrot clock, 'sparrow clock',... :) Every year, during Feb-March, around 8.00- 8.30 a.m., I see them from our kitchen window... having a breakfast of chikoo fruits from our neighbour's tree! I like to watch the...

My worst fears came true yesterday morning :( When I discovered broken eggs and lots of feathers near the shrub, I didn't have to check in to realise what had happened. What a bad start to my day! A few minutes later, I heard the continuous cry of a bulbul. Was it the male - searching/grieving? Or, was it the female, who may have fought before flying away? I will never know. Hopefully, these bulbuls will not build their future nests at low levels. Anyway, my attempt at getting to know about a bird's life had come to an abrupt end. :(

Here is a peep into the life of the Red Whiskered Bulbuls who chose to make a part of our garden, their home :)   This is one of the bulbuls - I'm assuming it is the female. To an amateur eye like mine, the male and the female look similar. Even the creator seems to have taken gender equality seriously here! The shrub the bulbuls chose for building their nest is so low and accessible! I'm praying that the cats and snakes that move about freely don't come to know about this. Though, how, I don't know :(  Animals are so sensitive. I'm sure, like me, the snakes & cats have been keeping an eye on the bulbuls - for different reasons, of course! 3-4 days of hectic activity by both birds and their cosy home is ready :) It looks to be made of dry twigs only, but actually, they have lined it with large quantities of soft stuff like spiders' webs, etc. No fuss and frills, no disagreement, no third person's help required- excellent! I wish nest...

Till my only child started school, I was a full time mom. Looking back, I would call it the most blissful part of my life. I have also realised that one of the best things about bringing up a child is learning new things yourself. One routine that Y & I would always look forward to was our daily evening ramble. Chatting our way along a lot of greenery, we would come across playful dogs, grazing cows, butterflies, snakes, ants and lots and lots of birds. For Y, every bird had to have a name and it was here that I would feel thoroughly challenged. Brought up in a big city, my knowledge of bird identification was limited to crows and sparrows. Of course, I could tell a pigeon from a peacock! After Y was born, a visit to the book shop in big city meant a browse through the children's books section. During one such visit, we came across a book in Kannada called Pakshi Sankula (A collection of birds) by Mr.Suresh Kulkarni - a book with paintings by the author of commonly seen bi...