Ornitho

A red vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) built a nest and laid eggs in one of the potted plants of our terrace. This was a few years back in 2019. The parent Bulbuls brought one straw at a time to build the nest. The nest was empty for quite a while. We became aware of the eggs only because of their not so usual chirping. Soon, this was a new experiment for me to observe and a lovely pastime activity. I maintained a diary, similar to a lab notebook- noting down the progress each day. Nothing major happened for the first few days. The mother Bulbul would sit for long hours over the eggs during the incubation period, as if meditating. 

On the 11th day, 3 little ones came out of those eggs. They simply lied on top of each other, without any movement. Since, it was a hanging pot, I would take pictures everyday, climbing upon a chair. At the beginning, the mother Bulbul would immediately start shouting when I went near the nest. But once she came to know that we weren't doing any harm to her infants, she was more relaxed. During the first few days, when the newborns were just lying on top of each other, I could feel a lot of heat as I went near the nest. After 2-3 days, tiny feathers started developing. Their beaks and jaw lines too became more prominent. This was a rapid phase of growth- within a week, they were covered in a blanket of feathers. She started feeding them more frequently (3-4 times daily) and their size also grew. But all three of them lived quite comfortably- the dimensions of the nest constructed were indeed perfect. 

Now, came the most interesting part of the journey- the first flight. After they grew and were feathered completely, slight movement of their wings was seen. They would flutter their wings up and down, imitating their mother. This is so wonderful- the knowledge of flying comes in-built with the wings. Nature has constructed the device and installed the programming as well. The crawling version just needs to be uninstalled.

It was a delight to watch, as the first one took it's leap out of the nest and halted over the balcony grill. Further, taking a second leap from the grill to a nearby branch. Soon, the second one also went off. The third one was a little bit slow, but he too managed to join his siblings. 

The nest was empty once again. This, so very much matches with the setting of this world- the promising emptiness that has nothing to offer, yet there is something that adds beauty to it which is hard to quantify and analyze. There are so many Bulbuls being born and nurtured everyday on this planet. This age old process is going on for billions of years. Yet, the emptiness has remained new, fresh and untouched.  

©Neha Kanase