Revenge of the Koel
Last week, we discovered a nest being constructed by a bulbul. It was located among some creepers just under the roof of the porch. Nest when about half done. See the yellow-vented bulbul? The construction work was done solely by the female bulbul. The male partner kept a distance, providing some form of air cover. Hundreds of trips were made, each time with a little material. Bulbul struggling with the construction material. It took many attempts for it to get this piece of tissue off the barbed wire. Now you might understand the etymology of birdbrain . When about half done, the bulbuls caught the attention of a female koel. This was about ten times the size of the bulbul. Female koel gazed fixed at the bulbul's nest And tagging along as consort was a male koel. One day, I found the male koel pecking an object on the ground. On closer look, it was an egg. But it must belong to some other bird, perhaps a kingfisher, as the...