Bighu the Bee-eater is back!

all the here is a loud chattering in the garden where

and gathered into a corner, looking at the sky, greeting someone. Drongo was the first to shake hands with a slim bird that just landed on an antenna.

“Hi everybody – come here and see who is here. Our friend Bighu is back,” Drongo shouted.

Stretching its wings after a long flight, Bighu – the Blue-tailed Bee-eater popped up into the air from the antenna it was perched on.

“Hey… You are back again. We were all waiting for you,” Drongo said happily, patting Bighu’s little head. “It is more than six months since you left us. Where have you been? Do you even remember us?” asked a disheartened little

in a complaining voice. “I remember you all Batti.. That is why I came early, even before my friends such as Avichchie – the Indian Pitta,” said Bighu descending to the bush was resting on.

“So how is everyone? What is news here in Sri Lanka? Have I missed anything here?” Bighu asked his Sri Lankan friends.

“Well things are normal except that some trees we used to rest on, were cut down,” said the old wise Owl, who keeps an account on everything. “Well I’m happy as long as my antenna is intact,” Bighu said while removing a rusty piece of metal from the antenna he uses to perch on, catching bees and other insects for his meal.

“And you also need to be careful, as Pussy – the cat is always on the prowl, hunting anything that moves. Our narrowly escaped his claws last month,” warned Drongo who also assumed duties to provide security to the

bird clan.