Chirpy protests against unsolicited visit. The bully, a male indian Robin with rusty red rump and its itchy tail flicking, arrives. Probably it has not so fair intentions, otherwise why would the hosts raise such a storm of choicest abuses against the intruder. The tailorbird pair, half the size of the intruder, can fight--verbally of course--with more tenacity than even the most cantankerous aunty in your neighborhood. Their shrill notes have sharp talons man. What proficiency in protesting! Well, they have a right to so it. After all, they own this tree under the birdie constitution. They have their nest sewen up among three leaves. So of course the tree belongs to them. Even I, whose courtyard happens to keep rooting of the tree, have surrendered my rights of ownership after their vehement lung power in protest against any effort to prune even those branches which are well away from their little nest and are of inconvenience to me. But then I can't match their quarrelsome capacity, so I have resigned myself to the fate of my face and head getting some brush against the pinchy caressing of the tree. What to do? They own it completely as long as they have their family here. Spotted Munia also have their grassy globular nest on a nearby branch. They also try to contribute to the protest, but cute chocolate brown little beauties having chess pattern in their breast have such feeble jingling notes that you can't even make out their contribution to the musical protest. It's luke their sitar notes get lost into the humungous buttock busting notes of biggest drums in the loudest discotheque in the baddest part of the world. Anyway they also protest and click from branch to branch. It pays to have quarrelsome neighbours sometimes. Isn't it? So the bully was intimated. He flew away with a jarring note of typical chhhrrr accompanied by ever-flicking tail. These four residents of the small Parijat tree also throw explitives on the baddy squirrel who tries to get away with eggs. But not as long as these noisy defenders are there. Agreed that they can't physically chase the fur-lined snouty nuisance, but their verbal fight draws my attention sometimes and I go to add to the defending army. The very same ageold instinct to be with the underdogs! By the way sometimes even a pair of purple sunbirds, the male's metallic blue sheen looking over the mundane dull colours of the female, joins the protests. A par of oriental white eye, their notes hardly distinct among the commotion. But they make bigger statements with their beatiful white-ringed eyes and flit with their square tails from branch to branch. Once in a while even the most garrulous babblers also join the protesting chorus, thinking there must be a bigger common enemy to all, for example a snake. However, when they find that these tiny birds are overhyping the thread over almost a non-issue, they just take off angrily. But man at least u expect a bit of reciprocation for my help. The other day I was removing some wild growth in a corner away from the tree and there were these tailor birds again throwing choicest abuses in their birdie language. I even felt irritated. I have even surrendered my right to the tree and now you don't want me to touch anything in the whole yard, I whispered to myself. So now I am open to the idea that they have at least equal right over the courtyard also. What to do? These tiny, shrill loudspeakers can definitely send down jarring notes when they are angry!
PS: Freshly minted Tailorbird hatchling....so it has been a success. She looks funny, makes delicate cheeu cheeu sounds and is learning the first lessons in flitting and flying in the safety of little cluster of small trees.
