1
Teetiri waits for the dawn
Teetiri, the redwattled lapwing, was looking forward to the dawn. Already, the orange rays in the sky were getting brighter. The silence of the night seemed to be louder than the sounds of the day, she thought to herself. She always had to be alert, watchful so that Dhaman, the rat-snake, could not quietly steal up and grab her newly laid clutch of two eggs. Dhaman loved to eat eggs of ground-nesting birds. But, especially eggs of the red-wattled lapwings, yes, especially eggs of the red-wattled lapwings, said Teetiri, to herself, again and again.
Teetiraa,
her partner would now come to take his place at the nest. He must have been sitting
at some other spot, not so far and not so near. He knew it was time for him to take over
his duties
at the nest once the Chimini family began to sing. It was quite hideous, he
thought, having to wake up like that. Teetiri was however very happy about it,
he knew. The
Chimini family did wake him up quite rudely, he thought to himself.
Teetiri waits for the dawn
Teetiri, the redwattled lapwing, was looking forward to the dawn. Already, the orange rays in the sky were getting brighter. The silence of the night seemed to be louder than the sounds of the day, she thought to herself. She always had to be alert, watchful so that Dhaman, the rat-snake, could not quietly steal up and grab her newly laid clutch of two eggs. Dhaman loved to eat eggs of ground-nesting birds. But, especially eggs of the red-wattled lapwings, yes, especially eggs of the red-wattled lapwings, said Teetiri, to herself, again and again.
She
could easily spot Dhaman and Naag, the cobra, in the daytime when, they were quite clumsy in their
approach while hunting for food through the grassland. Why, only yesterday, Teetiri had gossiped
with Chimini, the house sparrow, and
told her that
she was certain that Naag was actually blind and was only able to stumble upon
food by accident or because his prey was too shocked to run away. Chimini had giggled as always, and
immediately flew off to tell her sixty-seven brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles
and aunts who were feeding nearby on a heap of harvested grain.
Chimini
was like that only. Very busy, chattering all the time, and laughing about everything.
Teetiri often wondered if Chimini actually ever listened. She never seemed to be paying
attention.
Kotwal, the black drongo, was not like Chimini. Dark, glossy and handsome,
warrior-like with his alert looks and forked sword-like tail, he was a faithful
friend. He loved to perch on the low branches of few grassland trees throughout
the early morning and late evenings, and listen to Teetiri's constant gossip
about everyone. Kotwal always listened attentively but never complained.
Kotwal, the black drongo was a faithful friend to Teetiri
He loved to listen to Teetiri's gossip from a low branch
[Photograph - Savio Fonseca]
The
orange light in the dawn sky was getting brighter now. Teetiri knew Chimini and her large family would soon
wake up from their night-time sleep in
the large babool tree. This was a moment that Teetiri dreaded and looked forward to, at the same time. All the
peaceful stillness of the night would be gone, but, it also was an indication to her that now
she could afford to relax at her nest.