The creator in his infinite wisdom laid soil upon the crust of our home – planet earth – and then planted grass on it. The seasons did their bit with summer and winter drying the grass and leaving hay to build someone’s home.

House-Sparrows (Passer domesticus)

The cute and chirpy House Sparrows, well-known amongst our city and town dwellers, have their natural abode around the woodlands and forests near us. These sparrows, along with Red-whiskered Bulbuls, Scaly-breasted Munia  and the Blue-bearded Bee-eater feel ‘at home’ when hay is aplenty.

Blue-bearded Bee-eater (Nyctyornis athertoni)

It is home-making time for them. Some of these little birds find resting places under the cozy coconut palms and bamboo roofs of our resort. Trusting their instincts and placing their faith in nature, they set about the task of building a home to lay their eggs and live in.

Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus)

Other birds such as the Red-wattled Lapwing, the Malabar Crested Lark  and the Nightjars have their nests on the ground.

Malabar Crested Lark (Galerida malabarica)

They are very resourceful and have developed a range of innovations. A cup of dry grass scooped into their nests serves to soften the impact on their eggs when laying them. They stand guard all night and day for hoofs or paws that intend harm to their unborn offspring. Intruders are avenged with shrieking cries.

But Alas! Despite all this vigilance a Lapwing’s eggs are crushed and she cries all night plaintively trying to come to terms with her loss before the implacable alter of nature.

Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus)

The chirping of birds is music to some and noise to many. Likewise, human beings sharing their abode with little birds of nature are becoming a rarity. Most are likely to drive them away in the name of cleanliness or beauty or both. It will not be long when birds may disappear from our cities. Where will they go if our forests have disappeared by then too..??

This entry was posted on Monday, April 12th, 2010 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Birds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.