Spring is here! The air is filled with bird songs all day. All the avian denizens of our backyard and front garden are busy courting, laying claim to territory and nesting.
I can hear the shrill piercing whistles of magpie-robins, the liquid notes of both black-hooded and golden orioles, the cheery cries of the red-whiskered bulbuls, the pleading calls of the koels, and the all-pervading and melodious songs of the orange-headed thrushes.
Nest-building activity is going on at a furious pace in every corner of our garden. I can hear commotions created by koels and crows. I can guess what is happening—the male koel fights with the female crow and she leaves her nest to deal with him. As soon as the nest is left unattended, the female koel zips in and quickly lays eggs in it, sometimes throwing out one or two of the crow’s eggs to make space for her own.
Magpie-robins have started to nest in the nest box we have hung in a mango tree. Every day I see them entering the box carrying nesting material. The male sings beautifully all day proclaiming that he has marked out his territory.
The birds in the garden can be seen drinking water wherever there are puddles. The water from our kitchen sink drains to a coconut palm and many birds love to drink this water. When dal or rice is being washed at the sink, some grains flow into the drain and the birds love to peck them off.
The magpie-robins have decided that the kitchen drain water is theirs. They shoo away any bird which comes to the water. One evening, when I was washing up, a pair of orange-headed thrushes was drinking the drain water peacefully when the male magpie-robin dive-bombed them away! They kept coming back and the magpie-robin kept shooing them away.
Suddenly a golden oriole and a black-rumped flameback woodpecker arrived from different directions and the magpie-robin didn’t know which one to chase away. It dashed at the woodpecker which took refuge in a nearby custard apple tree. Meanwhile the oriole had its fill and flew off. A pair of spotted doves put in an appearance next. I was entranced by all the activity.
I place a bowl of fresh water in the garden daily for the birds. There is one particular crow who loves to splash about in the water. It not only dips into the water fully but also pulls at the bowl with its beak and shakes it to splash the water around, thoroughly enjoying itself. It’s almost saying, “Holi hai!”
Pragati Nayak
Email: pragati.16017@gmail.com