“Saving a life overrides territories. ” – Ovadia Yosef
Today while I was busy in my study I heard a baby bird shriek. My eyes immediately glanced out the window and what I saw was gruesome in one word.
There’s lots of guava, olive, mango and jack-fruit trees around in the garden, which the crows happily call their home. The crows were behaving different today.
Was a predator lurking in the garden? Snakes??
Well there definitely was a predator but it was not a reptile. It was the crow.
There in one of the delicate and low lying branches sat a crow and it’s claws held it’s prey. A delicate, young baby bird. The young one belonged to the Asian Pied Starling species, which is known as Kankulika in the Assamese language.
Yes a baby bird with little or no feathers, the one that sits on the nest obediently waiting for it’s mama to bring in some food.
The crow very brutally clenched the young one’s neck by it’s claw. The young one’s little legs were beating helplessly into the air. Ironically it couldn’t fly away.
The crow began pecking mercilessly on the young one’s head and neck trying to eat it out alive. Truly gruesome. It was then that I decided to act. I am not sure if it’s wise to interrupt what’s happening in nature but it was a call. Infact a shriek. “If I don’t act now this shriek will haunt me forever” I said to myself.
I picked up a strong wooden stick that was rather long. Long enough to sway at the low lying branches. I darted out the door into the garden and began swaying it at that crow. A ‘murder’ of crows began booing at me for trying to interfere into their personal matter.
But this matter mattered to me because the baby was alive, was shrieking for help. The neighbours probably thought I was going crazy but I was successful, or so.
The crow flew away leaving behind it’s prey. But it’s prey couldn’t fly and alas it came spiralling down and fell to it’s death.
One way or the other this incident left me sad. I was shaken. I didn’t expect this ending.
But deep inside I know this little one has found peace. And this shriek shall never haunt me.
A Pause for Nature 