Wildbuzz: This baby can really bully mum

Babies bawling for food from their anxious, overworked parents is nothing new. But when the supposed baby is larger than the stressed mum, it does make for an interesting spectacle. The intrigue is deepened when we learn that the ‘baby’ is a Pied cuckoo (a summer migrant from Africa) and the parent a Jungle babbler (a resident species commonly known as the ‘seven sisters’).
Associated deeply with Indian cultures and classical Sanskrit poetry as the messenger of the monsoons, the Pied cuckoo flies into North India from Africa in May-June ahead of the rains to lay eggs in the nests of other birds, especially babblers of the genus Turdoides. It is known as brood parasitism. Mentioned in Kalidas’ epic poem, Meghdoot, the cuckoo is known to peasants awaiting the monsoons as `Chatak’ in parts of North India or `Kharadiyo’ in Gujarat.
Wildlife photographer Parveen Nain had a comfortable view of the ‘bawling novelty’ on Thursday and he drew inspiration for a heedless humanity plunging into catastrophic conflicts.
“As I sat on my balcony sipping morning tea, a curious sound caught my attention, a distinctive call unlike any I had heard. To my astonishment, I spotted a babbler feeding a bawling cuckoo chick, a phenomenon I had only read about in the books. It was a beautiful reminder of the wonders of Mother Nature, showcasing the incredible bonds that can form beyond continents and species (actually, due to cuckoo cheating). The cuckoo is famous (or infamous?) for making other birds raise their chicks. They quickly lay an egg in another bird’s nest while the owners are away, and sometimes they will push a few or all of the bird’s own eggs out of the nest to ensure the cuckoo chick gets precedence in food. In a world consumed by conflict, this simple act of nurturing reminded me of the importance of compassion and cooperation,” Nain told this writer.
Bribing the gods at Sukhna
The parking lot behind the Nature Interpretation Centre at the Sukhna lake, and on the left flank of the road leading to Saketri, has turned into an unregulated feeding area for birds, monkeys and cattle. People, motivated by the interest to earn some brownie points with the divine powers, deposit all kinds of foods, including ‘poorie-chhole’ and ‘halwa’, for the creatures. Birds such as Common mynas, House crows and pigeons dominate the food site.
Not only does artificial food provision imbalance the numbers within the diversity of bird species but huge numbers of pigeons in cities are known to expose humans to chronic lung diseases via the omnipresence of discharged faecal matter and feathers. Human foods have led to bird deaths. The situation is replete with irony. Just 50 yards from the parking lot is the lake’s regulatory-end, where signboards have been put up by the administration forbidding people against feeding fish and birds.
Monkeys have congregated in the jungles flanking the parking lot. Monkeys eat nothing from the jungles. All they need is the trees to take shelter and come down to the parking lot for a free feast, whose provisioning goes on all day. The menace of monkeys in urban areas led the Government of India in 2022 to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and remove the Rhesus macaque from its Schedule II. It had afforded monkeys legal immunity. Monkeys are currently dealt with by the municipal corporation and their downgraded status is akin to that of stray dogs.
In this motley mix of feeders, an unusual avian specimen was spotted. It was an exotic — a mutant specimen of the Cockatiel, a species which is actually endemic to Australia but line-bred for generations in India for aviaries. This specimen could have either escaped from a private aviary or the Chandigarh Bird Park, which is not far away. Or, it could have been released by the owner at the food site to give it ‘azaadi’ and earn brownie points or the owner may have gotten plain fed up with the pet.