Postcards from Thailand

Day 13: The hatchlings are still in the nest. Precisely how many feathers do they need before they can fly? Of course, if I were in their position, I’d be perfectly happy to lie in bed all day and be fed tasty insects.

Oriental Magpie-Robins, Day 13

Day 14: Morning, and the slugabeds are still there.

Oriental Magpie-Robins, Day 14

Around about noon I noticed that for the first time one of the hatchlings was poking its head above the edge of the light fitting. An hour later it made its way onto the rim.

The First Bird

Fifteen minutes later the second bird appeared. It’s noticeably smaller than the first one. I guess we now know who got the lion’s share of the insects.

And Then There Were Two

A few minutes later and the first bird had flown off, leaving behind the smaller one.

Left Behind, Looking Forlorn

It was a full hour and twenty minutes before the second bird flew. During that time it would occasionally stand up an stretch its wings, with the occasional flutter. The parents visited it three or four times to feed it, but the impression given was that they were leaving it alone to encourage it to take to the air.

It’s now evening and the birds are still around. The larger one has no trouble flitting between the branches of a nearby tree. The smaller one, however, seems pretty much confined to the ground for the moment. Fingers crossed it’ll be OK.

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Day 12: Whilst the chirps of the nestlings are in no way melodious, Oriental Magpie-Robins are prized for their song, and are kept as caged birds by people who love that sort of thing (and don’t care about putting “all heaven in a rage”). Such was the love of these songbirds that they became virtually extinct in Singapore in the early ’80s (fewer than 50 birds survived in the whole country). A subsequent attempt to reintroduce them to Singpore failed; the released birds were simply captured by modern-day Papagenos.

Fortunately, the range of this bird is vast, so they are not, as a species, under threat. They are found from India and Pakistan in the west to the Philippines in the east, and from the foothills of the Himalayas in the north to Java in the south.

Oriental Magpie-Robins, Day 12

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Day 11: The ceaseless efforts of the parents to bring the two surviving hatchlings an endless stream of insects from day break to dark humbles me, and puts to shame the half-hearted parenting efforts of some members of another species with which I’m familiar.

A Beakful of Insects is Always Wlecome

Today the feathers are much more developed, and the distinctive colours of the plumage are now clearly discernible.

Oriental Magpie-Robins Day 11

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Day 9: I had hoped that a wider-angled photo would reveal the missing third bird today. It was not to be. The two surviving chicks seem to be developing well, and have more feathers. It won’t be long now before they take their first flights.

Magpie-Robins Day 9

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Day 8: The feathers are much more prominent now. I’m a little concerned that I could only see two of the birds in today’s photos. Perhaps the third one is underneath? Fingers crossed.

I’m also wondering how they are going to get out of the light fitting. The sides are vertical, and the nest is quite a long way down.

And if they do get out, there’s Whisky to worry about. I’ll have to do something about the Whisky peril.

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Day 6: Five days since the first bird hatched. They are noticeably larger today, and feathers are beginning to break through their skins.

5 Day Old Oriental Magpie-Robins

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It’s now day 4, and it looks like the last little one won’t make it. Still in the shell.

The others, however, seem not to understand the difference between a camera and a parent with a beak full of tasty insects.

Magpie-Robins, Day 4

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Oriental Magpie-Robins are known in Thai as nok gaan kheen (in Thai นกกางเขน). That translates as “Cross Birds”. Nothing to do with a prototypic “Angry Bird”, but something to do with the cross symbol.

Yesterday evening the parents went into overdrive bringing insects back to the nest. I figured out that there must by now be a few more hatchlings. This morning I took another snap. So far three out of four eggs have hatched.

Three new-born Oriental Magpie-Robins in the nest

One more to go.

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