What the magpie robin lost

 Birds breed in all sorts of nests so I wasn't surprised to see an Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus sauloris) going into a cavity up in the rotten tree trunk.  I was simply fortunate to have caught it in the act.

I had once recorded a Magpie Robin nesting in the internal cable box of an old lamppost in the taman (reproduced pic at end of post).  

"The Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) is one bird that builds its nest in a variety of places. These include shallow cavities that develop at the tops of rotting palm trunks and tree stumps. Less often, nests are seen among vegetation like the axils of coconut palms fronds, epiphytic ferns, in shrubs and according to Wells (1999), on a banana fruit-bunch.

... They build their nests almost anywhere from thick shrubs, in the fork of branches of small trees, palms (at the base of the palm frond), hollow trees and even near human habitation: under a veranda, in a hole in the wall, in an old tin can, and in stables. Nests are usually built low. Their nests are large, untidy, shallow cups loosely made from grass or dried leaves, twigs, moss, roots." (extract Bird Ecology Study Group, Aug 2018)

Shortly after, the bird shot out like a bullet.

And subsequently returned to furnish its home. 

I would have expected some dry stuff but not what looked like fresh moss in view of the nature of the cavity nest.  On closer examination the cavity looked like an old one that was being reused.

And I was not to know that this would be the last time I would see it ...

... because this happened to its nest trunk on one stormy afternoon!

The only consolation here is that as it looked like the bird was just starting to build its nest so there was no loss of eggs or chicks here.

Record of 2017