Oriental Magpie-Robin

One Oriental Magpie-Robin chick must surely be born to survive.

In  close proximity with the nest of a brood of four Black-thighed Falconets and a busy pair of parents always on the hunt, this Oriental Magpie-Robin that was hatched much later but had assumed fledgling status in only about 15 days (compared to more than 30 days of a black-thighed falconet fledgling), fell right to its tree base, and inevitably would be ready meal if the Falconet parents were around.

Unfortunately another chick was found dead already, at the base of a close-by tree, presumably fallen earlier from the nest, undiscovered by its parents.

With a little human help, the surviving chick was placed in the fork of an adjacent tree with the hope that its searching parents would quickly notice its presence.

Perhaps a premature fledgling, it failed to find its balance as it fell again.

Fortunately the parents who were noisily looking for their chicks in the vicinity, arrived promptly, and managed cleverly to coax it, struggling through the grass, into the undergrowth and safety.