Friday, November 30, 2007

S p a r r o w s


















I remember those days as a kid, when these cute little birds used to nest in the loft at the top of the verandah at home. Watching them building a beautiful nest was a charm. I used to peek inside daily for eggs and one day, I found them, they looked like little white marbles.
I heard a little chirping one fine morning, which meant the baby sparrows had arrived!I felt very excited!I climbed up to the nest to see them. There they were,3 little babies. They didn't have their fur yet.
The parents used to take turns in feeding them. While one was feeding,the other used to search for food. Really dedicated mom and dad!! The dad could be identified with his beard :).

Making a chirping sound would make them believe that their parents had arrived. To respond, they would chirp and answer back :) .So one day I tried it!To my astonishment they answered back!!I got really excited and repeatedly begged my mom to get the nest down. I wanted to have a close look!
At last my mother gave up and brought the nest down. I was sooooo happy :)) . Mom kept the nest on a tool for me to have a closer look. I again made that chirping sound. They answered back and I put my finger above them. They thought my fingers to be their parents and started nibbling on my finger for food. It was pityful. They were really hungry. Their mom and dad were visible at a distance with food in their mouths. I told my mother about it and then they were back in their own place.
After a while, the parents came and fed the babies. I felt happy that their hunger was over.

Days passed and they grew up into adult sparrows quickly. They were big but hadn't learnt to fly properly yet.

One day as I was watching TV one of them suddenly flew in. I quickly switched off the fan to avoid an accident. They were trying to fly. Scared, they hid under the bed. With great difficulty, I was able to get her out. Caressing the little bird I realized how beautiful she was with innocent little eyes.It was my first close up glance of the sparrow. At that instant, the sparrow became my favorite bird.

I made a pose like Amitabh Bachchan in Coolie and admired myself in the mirror :) .

It was funny,replacing a hawk with a sparrow :) .

I kept her back in the nest.

After some more days, the sparrows became fully mature and left their nest.But the life cycle continued in the same place. New sparrows,new life, eggs and chicks again and then the chirpy game!!

To woo the female, the male sparrow is often noticed to make a circular dance as if its a keyed toy!!Believe me itz true!!!

Nowadays the mobile phone has become a threat to their existence. Read this to know about it.

Click Here

This really makes me sad!Some sort of electromagnetic radiation from mobiles becomes intolerable for these cute innocent birds.

So the next time you see a sparrow, please,please,please,plzzzzzzzzzzzzz switch off your cell phone!You can save one!