During September last year there was a strange visitor at home, a Viper, and we had to struggle hard to get it rescued.
Fortunately there was a pleasant surprise few days back. Now there was a winged visitor. A little brown dove,
also known as Laughing Dove (Stigmatopelia senegalensis), flew in and
refused to leave our home. Normally I used to spread some rice grains on the
boundary wall and keep water in a pot hanging by the branch of a Night flowering
Jasmine tree (Nyctanthes arbor-tristis) also known as Parijat or
Harsingar locally. Due to disturbances in the family after the demise of my
wife, the practice of keeping feed for the birds could not be attended
to.
.
I have very many times observed a pair of the
little doves flying around. On that particular day, a bag of rice was brought
home and placed in a corner. It occurred to me that perhaps the dove has come in
search of food or may be to complain that I am not keeping the feed for them
outside. Although I loved its intrusion, I was trying to drive it out lest it
gets caught by the moving ceiling fans and injures itself. My fears really came
true and it fell on the rice bag. We could easily catch it although it tried to
escape by occupying its position on the curtain rods at home.We examined it and
found that there were no external wounds, may be internally it could have been
hurt some where. We released it in the garden and gave some water in a bowl. it
sat there for few minutes and then flew away.
This incident was haunting me perpetually and I
was always in the look out of this pair in our vicinity. Now I am happy that
they have been spotted and they are on their rounds. I am envious of my
neighbour as the pair of the little brown doves have started building a nest in
his house, that too adjacent to the electricity meter.