A cacophonous cry woke me up from my protracted Sunday somnolence. 8 A.M was an unpardonable time for us residents to stay awake on weekends. Enraged by the interruptionm of slumber and the possibility of waking up my 8 months old kid, I went out to our balcony to look for the uninvited guests. A parrot was relentlessly crying in spite of my shooing. My wife, who also woke up hearing the nature's alarm, said that it was the time when she used to feed the birds in normal days. The bird was protesting against withholding its breakfast. I told her to feed it before it awakes our sleeping beauty. While my wife was feeding the birds with some left over bread crumps and rice, for the first time in 8 months, I stayed in the apartment watching the community living in our backyard. Parrots, pigeons, myna, kites and squirrels were just some of the members of the beautiful ecosystem. Close observation made me realize that they had several similarities to the human social behavior.
The parrots were the perfectionists. These early risers were punctual and time bound like those wealthy students who are brought up in boarding schools. Their colorful shiny feathers reminded me the neat and ironed uniforms. These students would grow up to beccome well mannered gentlemen and able citizens always striving for improvement and to lead a perfect life. They are, however, untouched by the hardships of human life and try to stay away from the suffering mob. The parrots had a time of its own and usually came in pairs. They eat very gracefully enjoying their meals to the last grain. Fully immersed in eating,they sometimes even forget their surroundings fully . They keep their feathers clean and never drench in the rain. Their beauty must have given them a racial superiority over the pigeons. They sometimes fight with the pigeons but easily retreat as they may be considering it worthless to altercate with those of inferior fellow beings..
Pigeons on the other hand can be compared to the politicians. They have no time sense and can appear anywhere at any time. They suddenly perch when the other birds are feeding and start to quarrels with them and even among themselves. As they are not compartively attractive, it is quite understandable why they get into trouble with the rest of the pack. They always eat in haste, as if it was a competition but always keep their eyes open to the surroundings and any slightest movement of sound would startle them. Probably their inferiority complex has made them paranoid. It may be due to the humiliation of being less attractive that they follow a ‘trust no one ‘policy.
The mynas are the underdogs. They only eat on the left over of grains from the floor which have fallen down while the parrots and pigeons were fighting. They usually come in the evening and never appear when other birds are around. They never make noise when there is no food and are always content with what they get. They would never hesitate to take bath openly in the water kept to quench their thirst. May be they are too innocent to become conscious of their social inhibitions.
The squirrels never eat from where the birds are feeding. It is when we started keeping food in another location that the squirrel started appearing. These impulsive creatures are like those workaholics who are always busy in their cell phones. These fur balls are always in motion and like to run away with the food in their mouth.
Even though these observations have no scientific basis and are only a part and producet of my extended imagination, it is nice to know that humans are not the only species with rivalry and competition. These tiny creatures at least made me think of something other than my family and work. By this time the pigeons have already arrived causing another commotion and the parrots were flying away scolding the pigeons. This awoke my baby and with a splendid smile she brought me back to the reality.
