A BIRD STORY

 

                                             

                                                      

“ Mamma, see there’s a bird’s nest hanging on the neem tree in our garden”, said Ashay to his mother. His mother nodded with a smile looking at him.

Ashay is a cute little boy of six years. He had often heard about birds & their nests in his books &  stories told by his mother. He had seen birds’ nest in tv too. But he was seeing it in real & so closely for the first time. So it was obviously a thing of great excitement for him.

“Mamma, see there are two birds near the nest. Are they- the Mamma bird & the Papa bird?” Looking at the nest, his mother said, “Yes”.

They were very small birds but looked very beautiful, as cute as the boy & were twittering gleefully, sitting near the nest & hopping from one branch of a tree to another. The nest was hanging on a small tree on its lowest branch & one could easily see inside the nest by standing near it.

“Don’t go near the nest & touch it. The nest may fall down & the eggs may break.” said Ashay’s mother strictly.

“What? Eggs!! Are there eggs in the nest, Mamma?” How many? Can I see them once? Please.” With these questions Ashay pleaded before his mother to see the nest. His mother agreed & took him near the neem tree. But being short the nest seemed to be a bit away from him. His mother than took him in her lap so that he could see inside the nest.

The nest was so beautifully built by the birds. Ahsay was surprised to see it. Inside the nest, there were two brown shelled eggs. The eggs were small & lovely. Ashay wished to touch it but his mother declined as she feared that the nest being fragile may break. Along with it the eggs may break & the birds being terrified may not come to their garden. So he didn’t  touch the eggs & came down from his mother’s lap.                                                  

From that day, it became a habit for Ashay to look at the nest & enquire different facts regarding the birds, their nests & their hatchlings who were yet to come out of the eggs. His mother told him that when the hatchlings would come out of the eggs, he can see the birds feeding them. She also told that after some days, when the hatchlings would grow up and have wings they will fly away with their parents.

One night there was a big storm. It rained heavily The wind blew so strongly that many trees were expected to be broken.

The next day when Ashay went into the garden, he saw that though the nest was still hanging on the branch of the neem tree but the branch was broken & was hanging on the tree somehow. So he thought that the eggs might be there inside the nest. But when he went near the tree, he saw two broken eggs on the ground. He was hurt seeing the broken eggs. He had eagerly waited for the eggs to hatch but now those eggs were broken. Moreover there was no sign of the birds in the garden to whom the nest belonged. Ashay thought his mother was right, ‘Being terrified from the storm the birds may have left.”

The whole day he was looking at  nest sadly & thinking about the birds, sitting near the window of his room. Nothing seemed to be interesting to him that day. He didn’t go to play with his friends as  he used to  everyday in the evening.

At night while he was lying on his bed to sleep, his mother sat near his bed and asked what he was thinking the whole day. He said,” Mamma, I was thinking about  the eggs that have broken due to the storm. And like you said the birds have left. I was thinking that how can we save the eggs from falling from the nest.” “Mamma, should we make houses for the birds on the trees like our own house, so that it will not break & can face the storm. This will save the eggs from breaking & the birds can have a happy family after the eggs hatch”

We may find Ashay’s idea of making houses for birds funny & immature. But infact this little boy is wiser than the people living on this earth. His concern for the birds, their nest  & eggs is commendable. Most of us on the otherhand may not even think it a matter of discussion. Increasing deforestation  has made innumerable number of common birds like sparrows homeless. A number of birds are on the verge of extinction in the country. As per the report of the scientific institutions like Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, the IUCN Red List version 2010, it indicates 14 Critically Endangered species of birds from India. According to the IUCN list, the critically endangered birds include White-rumped Vulture, Indian Vulture, Red-headed Vulture, Pink-headed Duck, White-belled Heron, Sociable Lapwing, Christmas Frigatebird, Jerdon's Courser, Siberian Crane, Bengal Florican, Himalayan Quail, Forest Owlet, Spoon-billed Sandpiper. The birds are almost extinct or facing extinction because of destruction of  their habitat, poaching, indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemicals harmful to birds etc. The nesting, feeding, and roosting areas of birds have faced a lot of disturbance from the human beings, affecting their population.

Though important steps have been taken by the Govt. of India for protecting the endangered birds of India, yet there is a great need of people like Ashay whose concern for birds can change the scenario.