Look, what type of bird would build this nest? My dad said that these birds know that we are kind to them, so, they build it within our reach... It is actually hanging firmly from one of the twigs of the guava tree planted by dad a few months ago... I was so excited every time I look at the nest, eager to see the first chick hatching out from the two eggs laid by the tiny bird ( I balanced myself on a chair to take a peek at the inner part of the nest when the birds were out searching for food one morning). Those spotted eggs looked so fragile in the small nest... I did a bit of examination of the nest's structure... It was made with dried weeds (I assume plucked from my garden), some dry leaves, an odd twig or two and some news papers! No wonder my dad discovered some newspaper used to cover the guava fruits were shredded... These little birds were smart in finding the suitable materials for their cosy nest...Everyday we could hear the chirps and twitters of both 'the bull and the hen' birds while guarding their nest from any form of threats... Even when my father went unintentionally near the nest, they would chirp angrily and noisily at him... Dad always say that it was as if they were speaking foul words at him... It was quite amazing how the birds had guarded their nest so closely...
That was one week ago, yet an unpreventable incident happened... My dad said that he saw a big yellow bird perching on the little nest flew off when it saw him walking near the tree lately... The day before yesterday, I saw with my own eyes, the yellow bird snatching away an egg from the nest with its beak... Those birds whom the eggs belonged to, 'squawk' angrily at the big bird but they had to watch helplessly as the bird flew off with their precious egg...
Now, the small birds were gone as their last egg was snatched up by the same thieving bird... I felt so sad... History had repeated itself in my very garden several times... Eight years ago, it was a different type of bird which had built its nest in my garden but on a rambutan tree in the backyard... There were four blue eggs... Those were destroyed during a thunder storm where the nest had fallen down from the tree... Three years ago, the eggs of a magpie hatched successfully in my rusting post box, but those poor chicks die within days when neighbouring kids came along and tortured them... We found the chicks on the ground... It was a tragic sight... Ever since that incident, my father would block the opening of the post box as it was still a favourite nesting site for the magpies...
Mum always said that every living being on earth has their world which is similar to that of the human beings... There are the culprits (thieving birds, carnivorous hawks) lurking at each corner waiting to pounce on other smaller and weaker birds, there are are group of birds who had wanted a simple life (looking for food, building their own shelter, mating, raising their chicks, growing old), there are also birds who wanted power ( they focused on expanding their territory, guarding the females fiercely and also adding them, fighting with other birds of the same species over an unowned area) and lots more.... This is the life we lead too...
