Henry Rufous Treepie – Guest post by Karishma S.

Henry Rufous Treepie

This is Henry, the young treepie I recently rescued after he fell down from his nest. I waited for his mom to come after the fall but when that never happened, I took him in. He was quite scared initially but later on adapted and used to mingle well with me. He never liked being in the cage so he used to sit upon my shoulder like a boss and keep observing keenly as I used to roam around the house doing some job or the other. A few days later when I took him out into the garden, his mother spotted him and flew down to feed him. This was an extremely heartening sight and Henry’s excitement knew no bounds. So this became a routine, his mom would come and feed him three to four times a day and if in between he felt hungry I would give him some egg. I must say he was one eating machine.

Each day he would make some progress in his flying. Though His mother tried to guide him to the nest during the initial days, he used to get stuck in thick bushes or some large canopy after which I would’ve had to get him down. I knew he was a tough guy and would someday make it to the nest.

Ready to travel!

He used to love hopping around in the garden pecking at almost everything he found, trying to eat it 😂. But the fact that he was fearless was disadvantageous for he would hop up to every other bird that came into the garden expanding his social circle but wasn’t wary of the fact that some birds could be predators too. I saved him twice from getting swooped up by hawks or kites and his mother used to keep an eye on cats lurking around and used to shout and alert us whenever she spotted one.

The little treepie was hyperactive. Once he was confident of his flying skills he would fly from one sofa to the other and everywhere inside the house. He was very adorable I must say.

Very soon, on the 13th day of his arrival when I took him out into the garden for his breakfast a surprising thing happened. He took a long flight guided by his parents and reached one of the branches of the mango tree he fell from. Following that he kept hopping from one branch to another finally reaching the nest where he was greeted by his sibling.

If you let a treepie get to your head, you may enjoy it! 🙂

Everyday, I observe little Henry hopping here and there around the nest. He replies back whenever I call out his name.
I’m proud of my little treepie and hope he attains greater heights. This experience taught me how well animals learn to adapt and connect with each kind of environment they are exposed to.

PS- I’m sure he would be bossing over his sibling now and showing off his flying skills to him 😂😂

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Note: Karishma S. is a member of the Painted Storks Nature Club.

Ten belles to be stranded on a desert island with?

This post by Aggressive Opinions got me thinking! Its based on Praveen J’s post of 2001! To recall what Praveen posted :

MAROONED IN AN ISLAND

This is a repeat of a feature that appeared in Newsletter for Birdwatchers in the lines of
the erstwhile BBC programme Castaway in a desert. It goes like this. If you are to be marooned
on an island and the captain of the ship promises you to send 10 species of birds of your
choice (so that u can pass time for the rest of your life!!!) how would the selection go?

AO in his post reflected Job Joseph’s view :

1. A Bengal Florican…..boy its gait itself is worth watching.

Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) (Image:Richard Lydekker, 1895 - public domain)

2. A Brown headed storkbilled k’fisher. I like its call very much.
3. A swan..for me to feed during the day.
4. A tame cockatoo…to keep me company in my make-shift hut.
5. A hunting falcon….courtesy some rich sheikh.
6. A rooster…to wake me up.
7. A hen….to give the rooster company.(eggs are tasty)
8. An ostrich….bigger eggs are more tasty!
9. Racket-tailed drongo….more for the price of one?( hear animal
sounds)
10. A hummingbird….let it contribute to pollination.

However, it got me thinking, If I were on a desert island, and I had to have ten bird species with me, which would I want?

I disregard AO’s rider that you can’t eat the bird. Survival is brutal. Nothing aesthetic about it. So in order to do a Robinson Crusoe or a Swiss Family Robinson (known to lovers of Classics illustrated comics), what would be the ten best birds to have with me? I’m sure we could do a much better job. Don’t hesitate to comment!

 

Morning Walk

A poem by Aditi Baindur

One day, I took off to the lake,
to meet a friend for a morning walk,
I spotted lots of coots and ducks,
and a single painted stork.

I hoped to meet my friend out there,
waiting under a tree,
it stood up tall, dry and bare,
my friend I did not see.

The tree trunk stood tall and strong
supporting each green leaf above
I marvelled at the care provided
to each leaf, motherly love.

I spotted a hollow as my eyes did roam –
What lived inside the bole of the tree?
To what little creature was it home?
A squirrel, a myna, a lizard, or a bee?

Just then I saw a little bird,
not far off from that tree,
fallen and hurt, it bled on the dirt,
I ran to its rescue, couldn’t let it be.

The mother came showering down
between me and the chick
I let it shepherd the little one away
while I did the vanishing trick

My friend came up just then
laughing and carefree
I hope you weren’t bored she said
waiting here alone for me

I said how can one get bored
there is so much around to see
nature’s bounty, mankind’s treasures
were all around me plenty!

Quote – Thoreau on “Hunting”

You seek the bird...

but get only the body!

A gun gives you the body, not the bird.

Henry David Thoreau

"The Hunters at rest" by Vasily Grigorevich Perov (1871)

Credits: Wikimedia Commons.

• Perov’s Hunters – Public domain.
• Flying Pigeon – Alan D. Wilson.  CC-SA 2.5.
• Dead Pigeon – Kulmalukko. CC-3.0 Unported.