Harini gets to know why Dominga and Domingi, the magpie robins, are upset with one another
Darzee and
Darzi, the tailor birds were puzzled. They could hear the arguments, loud
whistling calls that went back and forth between Dominga and Domingi, the
Magpie Robins. They had been arguing about something for some time. They were
flying about, flitting here and there, amongst the flower bushes below the
great old banyan tree at the corner of the garden.
Darzee flew up to Domingi and asked, “What is the matter? Why are you so upset? The two of you will disturb the entire garden and the other birds inside the banyan tree. Did something go wrong?”
Domingi
gave a sharp whistle, and pointed towards her partner. “It is Dominga. He will
simply not listen. I have told him to be careful and yet, he slips up. You know
that we have to absolutely protect our nests and eggs. I am helpless when I am
in the nest. It is Dominga, when he is flying about, who has to keep a watch
and be on the alert.”
“I hope you
are not anywhere near the nest now, while you are whistling and arguing so
loudly,” Darzi asked Dominga. “That would be very foolish. Everyone, the birds,
especially the crows, hidden away in the tall Asoka trees in the neighbouring
garden, are all watching, looking at you.”
Dominga
whistled, an angry tone, loud and shrill, and quietened down, perched on the
branches of the Chafa tree, away from the banyan tree and the flower bushes
below it. “No, No. We are not near the nest. Even Domingi is away from it. I
was not careful today but Domingi blames me every day.”
Meanwhile,
Harini, the 4-year old girl, hearing the loud whistles and calls of the Magpie
Robins and watching them fly about with the two tailor birds, walked out of the
house and came up to the Chafa tree. Darzee flew out of the banyan tree and
came to a branch near her and called out, softly.
Darzee
laughed, in a musical whistle, “No. There is no need to call anyone. We cannot
depend on you or your Daddy to help us. We have to help ourselves and manage it
amongst us. Come, let me introduce you to Dominga. He did something wrong, like
he does, every day. Domingi is angry.”
Darzi and
Dominga flew down to the lower branches and perched nearby. Darzee asked, “What
did you do wrong, Dominga? Even Harini, our friend in the garden, she who
watches us from her window above the Chafa tree, is very curious. She wants to
know if she can help us if you want her to.”
Dominga
whistled in a low tone, “Hello, Harini. I have seen you at your window and
while you were walking about in the garden. I know that you talk to Darzee and
that the two of you are good friends.”
“It was Domingi,
my partner, who was upset,” Dominga replied. “I was not alert. It seems that
Kokila, the female partner of the Koel, came quite close to our nest. I was
watching Koel and looking out for hidden crows. I did not notice Kokila moving
about stealthily, almost unseen, searching for nests.”
“Why are
you so worried about Koel and Kokila,” Harini asked. “They are very quiet and
never seem to talk to the other birds. They are always hidden in the large
trees in the other gardens and are very rarely seen in the chafa tree. But,
they never come to the bird feeder or to the bird bath.”
“The quieter
that they are, Koel and Kokila,” Darzi said, looking around warily, “the more
dangerous that they are. They search for our nests and we are always careful
with them. Kokila is very clever. She is never seen but if we are not at our
nests, she will come in and remove one of our eggs and replace it with her own. She will throw away our egg. She is very stealthy. We will have a big loss.”
“Kokila
will steal your eggs?” Harini gasped. “How terrible. Why does she do that? Please go and talk to Domingi. She must be very
frightened.”
Darzee
nodded, and said, “I will let you know all about Koel and Kokila, sometime later.
Now, let me go and talk to Domingi.”
The fifth of the very short stories about the birds in Harini's garden
Bharat Bhushan 11 April 2025
No comments:
Post a Comment