I guess you know my love for babblers in general and for my babblers in particulars. They perhaps are most talked about individuals over here too. Given their discipline, sincerity and playfulness, its rarely I find they are overdoing something. But for last two days I did notice something that didn't fit in very well. Why one of them must act like a child. (they do go mad with joy in breeding season when their fledgling successfully leaves nest and they themselves don't act much different than their kid – but breeding season is over long time back so I didn't think on those lines.) and why another one was continuously – whole day, without a break, making sounds from somewhere nearby.
Yesterday I was standing outside and hear the babbler calling repeatedly from the tree behind. Turn around to look at it, and I instantly got two answers about what I was looking at. First and main answer - a Babbler baby and secondary, an informative answer - a Cuckoo. Okay, it did take a fraction of second to integrate these two answers but to my credit, I did it fairly quickly. As I watched this unusual addition to my multi-species family for next few mins, I got to see/understand something in a way I hadn't before. This babbler baby appeared to me only a babbler baby – it had body size much like parents (so far at least), had body language like parents, it sounded like parents and above all, it WAS a baby of its babbler parents. Before yesterday, I always had only 'victimising' aspect associated with brood parasitism but my babblers and their cuckoo baby appeared nothing more or nothing less than any other innocent baby preparing to take on world with help of its parents and proud parents happily and diligently taking care of their baby. I simply could not associate the word 'victim' with happy parents and baby in front of me.
Couple of shots and a small video.
