during the spring, the year before last year, i and my family were having a nice time watching a little sun bird build a nest in our backyard. the name of the species is nectarina asiatica. the bird sucks nectar from flowers. the male bird has a shiney purple colour while the female is dull green in colour (the photographs are taken by my dad in our backyard). the female is the one who builds the nest. we stealthily watched as the bird collected fibre and other stuffs and put them together. finally the little hardworking bird had a nest to lay eggs in. one fine morning when i went to the backyard to see the nest, to my horror and shock, i saw the nest on the ground a
nd a huge pheasant crow feasting on the eggs. i and family felt extremely sorry for the little bird whose toil went in vain. i also saw the sun bird helplessly flying around. i got very upset with the pheasant crow.however in the next season it was heartening to see the bird build its nest all over again.
we again had the little one building its nest in our backyard.
12 comments:
lovely pictures of the little sun bird. how marvellous just with the beak the bird builds such a nice nest. it is a pity that the phesant crow destroyed the nest, but the sunbird started it building the nest again. that is the lesson, not to give up! spring follows the fall. - bhaskar
Aww! It's so sad, but I guess that's the course nature takes - there's always the predator and the prey. And it's definitely heartening to see birds and animals never giving up and even doing the same work all over again with the same enthusiasm as the first time.
its a really sad experiance .........but if u see the positive side of it, its almost like nature trying to teach us a lesson to never give up.
lovely bird...you know many a times nature becomes our inspiration,teaches us many things. your bird has inspired me. i hope next time her eggs do not be a feast for pheasant crow.
wow! im definately gonna come to visit your backyard someday..hehe..
one's gotta be a nature lover to understand nature and all that they face..but they seriously fight all odds and end up finding their way out..
beutiful subird. . .nature instils in its creation an impulse and a strong desire to rebuild and revive. great pics of the sun bird couple
I'm glad you followed up a small observation that ended with an inspiring ,though sad, message. Theres also something about doing ones 'duty' come- what- may , in this story. But life always goes on.
Krishnarajulu
hmmmm.... a bird watcher. nature has beautiful stories to tell. kudos story teller
Excellent observation. Simple truth about life and hope choreographed by nature ! Resiliance is the mantra for forward movement ! Good luck.
An elegant bird! But it's all the food chain you know.In fact the pheasant crow itself faces the same threat and meted with the same treatment as of this lovely sunbird, their worst enemies being the civet cats, Foxes,racoon dogs and weasels destroy the eggs of the pheasant crow. Among the hawks, kestrels are dangerois to young pheasants.Eagles and owls attack the adults. Black rats and crows hunt the pheasants and drive away a pheasant hen from her eggs especially if she is young bird with her first net. Rhodents and crows then rush in and seize the eggs, the rats carrying them off in their mouths and the birds impaling them on their beaks. In a few minutes, all the hopes of the pheasant home are blasted. If one happens to see this as did you do with the sunbird we pity on pheasant crow as well. Do you also know that these pheasants give a kind of warning to chinese people about a dangerous snake called "crowing snake" which produces sound similar to these crows and when other crows come nearer they attack. These snakes do not crowl but gather themselves and leap forward.The pheasants,on seeing the snake start producing peculiar sounds which alert the people around. Take the sunbird itself - though they largely feed on the nectar, they also catch insects,spiders especially while feeding their young ones. So it's rather a cycle and every creature has to survive and there is no prioritisation in food. However it is natural that the young minds like yours feel bad and sad. By the way, the correct scientific name of this lovely bird is nectarinia asiatica -- Umesh
nice pics.
eva
its really nice to know about someone who is so concerned and also loves the nature. it is really sad story but true.it happening not only in case of this poor little bird but also in every spheres of life.we can make a big move if we wish! so let's join our hands together and make this world a good place to live not only for human race but for every living being.
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