As I heard the wood pecking sound during my mid day walk, I searched for a wood pecker.
Instead what I noticed was a colourful bird looking like a Bluethroated Barbet in dumpy green, at the mouth of a hole with most of its neck inside the hole. I waited to have a full view of its forehead and bill. The crown of crimson with transverse black band around the neck was its identifying mark.
In the bird book, this bird is not mentioned to be native of this region. So I would need help to have a second opinion for its species identification.
What occupied my attention was about its nesting habit. It seems to peck a hole in the wood for making a nest. I have seen this bird periodically pecking away for five days since then, although it gets chased away occasionally by some other birds.
I was reminded of the parables Jesus of Nazareth told about the birds of the air. 'Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither gather into barns and yet their heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?'
Among the hundreds of birds in the CMC college campus, competing for their nesting places this bird found its nesting place of its choice. It is a small bird; it is still single; it has its own practice of nesting only in holes pecked by them.
None of these was as an obstacle for this bird. It stays protected like all other birds of the air. It has its challenges and tense moments. Through it all, it has found better ways to survive and continue its life-cycle.
I feel challenged by the authenticity of the parable of Jesus ; there is a certainty about some things in life. One of them is that God's watchful eyes are always upon us!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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