BEE-tee-WEE...BEE-tee-WEE!

[Portuguese]

"BEE-tee-WEE...BEE-tee-WEE!"
That's the call we hear every morning from our house. A couple of Great Kiskadees, which resides on the top of a lightpole in front of our residence, announces, their way, mornings filled with everything good. At least, that's what my mother says. She is marvelled at seeing them making our rusted iron front gate a perch. Every morning, it is possible to see one of them on the gate. I'm not sure whether it is a male or female, I just know there they are, "at work".

They have been messy these days, you know. Their pole has been dirty. Aw! Thanks, Great Kiskadees, for adding a new daily chore: clean bird poop... LOL. I love it!

Whenever I can, I spend some time observing them in their urban habitat. I keep on watching the couple's routine, I see them feed their already grown offspring, with their flocks holding an adult Kiskadee's definitive colors, fly around the nest, guarding them from another roof and chase away the potencially threats. In general, other birds. It is commonplace to see them defend their offspring by attacking the invaders. I have a great time on that because they are very noisy and daring.

The telephone company guy
The other day, a telephone company worker needed to climb up the pole to install a phone line. The Great Kiskadees were apart, as they used to do, landed on the next door rooves, just watching the man going up. The man took his chance to see the young birds, sticking his hand into the nest and retrieving one of them. There were two. Then I could see them for the first time. Till then It was not possible because I wouldn't ever climb up the pole just to see some birds. That's the truth. The attentive parents were following all the man's moves, from their spots, calling as if they were saying "Get outta there! Beat it". All of a sudden, the two Great Kiskadees began to fly around the nosy worker's head. The birds were crying and wishing to beak him. Afterwards they landed on a high tension cable and restarted to attack him agressively. The man had to finish his work soon otherwise the birds would keep on distracting him. In case the man would be absent minded for a second, the birds would come and beak him in the head.

The worker seemed not to care about the Kiskadee's attacks. He observed their moves, while he did what he's meant to do, attached to the pole, handling the telephone cables next to the next. That way he had taken the little birds and dealt with the parents flying around his head, he seemed to be a bird lover. When he finished the work, went down from the pole and tenderly said goodbye to the Great Kiskadee's family. The loving and caring protective parents returned to the nest in order to check if it was alright with their babies.

The Cat
We've always had them as neighbors kiskadess themselves, but they never lived this close. A few months here, they settled permanently on the pole, the roof of the neighbor's house and other nearest points. They have always bee offering me scenes at least funny.

Last week, I had just woken up. I got up, I stretched out and, as usual, I opened the window to see the sunlight. It was a nice day, I might add. Only you could hear the songs sung by birds: doves, tanagers and of course, great kiskadees.

The trance state in which I stood was soon interrupted by the laughter of the neighboring house from the front, from the top of her balcony. She'd just laugh. He seemed amused that something happened down there. It was a cat.

He was big, had dyed black for the back and front legs. The hind legs and belly were white. He had a huge face, round. It's been a long time cats do not appear in these parts. He looked scared.

The girl looked intently towards the pussy, enjoying the scene and that had awakened me. The cat moved stealthily, slowly moving away from the front of our homes. The girl was still laughing at the balcony while waiting for something. I, the square opening my window, trying to identify what this was all about. Suddenly the girl screams, "Here it comes." And I kept looking for what was coming. Saw nothing.

"Jeez," she exclaimed. When I turned to see the cat, the poor man was crouching, dressed down, with the same scared look. The reason? Guess what: the great kiskadees! They were chasing the cat. As he moved, the birds came down upon him, with its flybys, kamikazes, almost getting a piece of his scalp. I started laughing.

"What bold little birds they are!" I said to myself. This natural behavior of the young birds made my day. I do not deny that I wanted to have seen the cat taking a good pecking, but he finally managed to get rid of the of the rascal. What could he do, right?