The Home Zoo.....Ideal homes with brilliant architecture

Text and Pictures by – Nisarga Srinivasa

Nisarga Srinivasa is a budding naturalist who lives in a residential layout in the outskirts of Mysore and has the privilege of having the Urban Wildlife at her door step. Her interest in them has prompted this observation. She has joined in an Engineering College to do her computers.  Hasiru Hejje congratulates her on her first article. 

Nest of an Indian Robin

The mother earth provides equal opportunity for every living thing. My parents purchased a piece of land and built a house on it. This was being used by many other living beings prior to that. There were a few shrubs grown, insects made their homes in them- Grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies and moths. Ants and termites too must have had their burrows and tunnels in the ground; there must have been many other living things that visited or occupied the land upon which we built our house. How selfish are we! We demolished so many homes of others' to make ours. But now I feel happy because my home is being home for many other wild friends as well. For the past ten years many birds have constructed nests in and around my house and they have successfully introduced healthy and fit progeny into this world. Among many such nests there are few nests which fascinated me and my younger brother. I would like to share a few of my experiences with you about those nests.

NEST-1: It was a Sunday and I was helping my mother clean the shelf which was in the backyard. I stood up on the stool and had a cleaning cloth in my hand. I was about to clean the upper shelf but suddenly noticed a small heap of twigs and plant fibre at the corner of the shelf. To my surprise it was a nest of a bird. The nest was placed in the corner of the shelf and contained 4 nestlings of Indian Robin.

I was very happy to watch the ‘to & fro’ movement of the parents with food in their beak. Every time they went near the nest the nestlings would make little noises. It appeared that they made noise as soon as they sensed the presence of their parents. After a week,to our surprise, the nestlings were ready to fly from their nest. Only two of them successfully flew away but the other two could not make it. The successful just hopped out from the upper shelf and landed on the ground without harm on to the ground. The parents and the nestlings seemed to have a vocal debate and the nestlings remained huddled on the ground for almost half a day. The parents must have fed them right there. Later they succeeded in flying out of the house along with their parents. The parents bid good bye to their nestlings in some time and left the backyard.

NEST-2: I had been watching Sun birds in my backyard with something in their beak which they would attach to the mopping cloth hung on the cloth line. I knew what was happening and informed everybody at home not to disturb the cloth. After a few days a beautiful nest was ready. Never could I believe that these birds could tuck in their nest between the folds of a cloth.  More astonishing was the trust that these birds had developed upon all the inmates of our house that included my inquisitive brother, tidy conscious mother, a dog and an occasionally visiting cat.

Nest of Sun bird attached to a cloth  hing on a line

Two eggs were laid in the tiny nest. In a week’s time both of them hatched and were rapidly growing. I found them cordially adjusting inside their cozy home. They grew up healthy with all the care and constant nourishment their parents brought in. I saw them feeding on small spiders, tiny aphids, soft bodied larvae and pollen combs.  One day they silently flew away.

NEST-3: My father had made a wooden nest box and attached it to the grills in our backyard. One day we saw some kind of dry grass and other fibrous materials inside it.

Nest of an Ashy prenia

A closer look revealed that, it was the nest of an Ashy prenia and had two eggs in it. Within a few days I saw the parents nurture their young with food and protection. Here they brought up two broods successfully, in spite of the presence of a cat lurking around.

NEST-4: Post, Post.....the post man called. By the time I could go and receive the post, he had dropped it inside the post box. I opened the post box to pick up the letter. I picked up the letter and found something beautiful. It was the nest of INDIAN ROBIN with nestlings inside.

The Indian Robin nesting in the Letter box

This time I watched the parental duties of both the birds. They meticulously search for the food and feed their young ones. I wonder how the parents determine what their babies are in need of. They bring in a variety of food species with in no time. They are always scouting around on the ground and bring in tiny, soft bodied larvae, nymphs of grass hoppers, small grubs, aphids, and late in the evening the termite alates !

They are vocally communicating all the time and always keep a watch on their nest. They enter the post box only after confirming their security and privacy.