Chapter 16
A Busy Month

Balmandir
Bhavnagar, 13 April, 1936

Dear Children,

It is 3 o’clock in the afternoon. There are no clouds in the sky. The sun is burning hot.

The sparrows, doves and sunbirds have started working in pairs as they prepare to make their nests. Some of the birds have already made their nests. In some of the nests, the eggs have hatched. The parent birds are busy feeding the chicks with different kinds of insects and other things.

In our courtyard also, there is a baby dove. There is another egg in the nest but it has not hatched yet.

On the way to Gopalbhai’s house, there are many stones along the roadside. In the space between these stones, an Indian Robin has laid its eggs. Bachubhai showed it to me. I looked through the binoculars. I saw that the nest was made of grass. On top therewere softtwigs, roots, wool, hair and cottonwool. This is how the robin makes its nest. What a soft and cozy home for its chicks! The robin is not like the crow. A crow’s nest is made of all kinds of things – even pieces of wire and wood.

I saw a baby bird in the robin’s nest. It was sitting with its beak wide open. The mouth was red from inside. In a little while the robin flew to the nest and put something in the chick’s open beak – may be a few small insects. By then it was evening. The robin settled down with its chick.

There is a small tree nearby. It has a nest hanging from its branch. Birds are so wonderfully different. The crow builds its nest high up on a tree. The dove makes its nest among the thorns of a cactus plant or a mehendi hedge. The sparrow can be found in and around our own house.

It makes its nest anywhere - on top of a cupboard, behind a mirror, on a ledge. Pigeons also make their nest like this. Often they make nests in old or deserted buildings. The barbet or coppersmith bird can be heard in the summer with its ‘tuk, tuk, tuk’ call. It makes its nest in a hole, in a tree trunk. And the tailor bird uses its sharp beak to stitch together two leaves on a bush. It lays its eggs in the fold of the leaf that it has made. This is its nest.

The sunbird makes a nest that hangs from the branch of a small tree or a bush. The same evening, we saw a sunbird’s nest. Can you guess what its nest is made of? The nest has hair, grass, thin twigs, dry leaves, cottonwool, bits of tree bark, pieces of cloth rags and even spider’s cobwebs.

When I looked through the binoculars, I could see a chick in the nest. It was sitting near the small opening in the nest. It was waiting for its mother to bring some food. What else can it do – just eat and sleep!

All the birds are so busy these days. Making a nest and laying the eggs is only the first step. It is a difficult task to raise the young ones in the nest which had been made with so much effort.

Birds have many enemies – humans and other animals too. Crows and squirrels, cats and rats – all of them wait for a chance to steal the eggs. Many times they even break the nest.

To keep oneself safe from danger, to find food, make a nest, hatch the eggs and raise the chicks safely – all these are tests for every bird.

And see - how the birds still sing with joy and spread their wings and fly freely.

So that is all for now, Salaam
Blessings from your
Gijubhai

• How many years ago did Gijubhai write this letter?

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• Find out how old your grandfather and grandmother were at that time.

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• This letter talks about many different birds. How many of these birds have you seen?

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• How many other birds have you seen? Which ones?

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• Have you seen a bird’s nest? Where did you see it?

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• Which is your favourite bird? Can you show your friends in the class how it flies, and what sound it makes?

• Guess what this bird is –

• Do you know of any other bird that makes its nest in a tree trunk like the barbet does?

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• If there is a nest inside or around your house, look carefully at it. Remember, do not go too near the nest, and do not touch it. If you do, then the bird will not come to the nest again.

Observe the nest for some days and note down the following things:

• Where is the nest made?

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• What is the nest made of?

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• Is the nest ready or are the birds still making it?

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• Can you recognise which bird has made the nest?

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• What things does the bird bring to the nest?

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• Is there any bird sitting in the nest?

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• Do you think there are any eggs in the nest?

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• Can you hear any sound like ‘chee chee’ from the nest?

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• If there are chicks in the nest, what do the parent birds bring for them to eat?

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• How many times in one hour do the birds come to the nest?

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• After how many days did the chicks leave the nest?

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• Make a picture of the nest in your notebook.

• You have seen how birds use many different things to make their nests. Use some of these things and make a nest. Make a small paper bird to put in your nest.

Birds use the nest only to lay their eggs. After the eggs have hatched and the chicks have grown, they leave the nest. Imagine, how it would be if we also had to leave our homes as soon as we learnt how to walk and talk!

After they leave their nest, different kind of birds live at different places – some on trees, some near or on water, and some on land.

Other animals also have different places where they live—on land, under the ground, in water, on trees.

Bird Feet – Different Kind for Different Needs

To swim in water	To hold the tree branches	To catch the prey (what it hunts)
To climb the tree	To walk on the land

Bird Beaks – According to the Food

To tear and eat meat	To make holes in wood and tree trunks	To suck nectar from flowers

To find insects and worms from mud and shallow water	To break and crush seeds	To cut and eat many kinds of food