Crow stealing Pigeon egg !! Sad !! ~ Mamathala thalli !!!!

 

Imp Pre-script : A Crow stealing vada is elementary story but stealing a Pigeon egg is not !!

 though a video has been made – it was some couple of hours of helpless horror as I watched the fight to save its progeny – one may call it cruel, cunning, daring, pathetic but it is nature – struggle for survival.

 

Squab :  is the young baby bird, especially a pigeon, rook or dove.  The word "squab" probably comes from Scandinavia; the Swedish word skvabb means "loose, fat flesh".

The  super hit movie “Babubali” opens amid chaos. Great depiction especially the opening by SS Rajamouli.  A woman, later revealed to be Sivagami, is desperately trying to escape with a baby in her arms. She is injured and being pursued. The setting is a turbulent river beneath an enormous waterfall, with water rushing around her.  As the current overwhelms her, Sivagami holds the baby aloft, refusing to let him drown even as she herself sinks beneath the water. She invokes the divine and declares that the child, Mahendra Baahubali, must live. Her own life is sacrificed for his survival.  By now it has established the mystery at its heart: the baby has a royal identity, but he will grow up far away from the kingdom to which he belongs. 

.. .. and you hear a very evocative - “Mamathala Thalli” sung by Satya Yamini, to the music of MM Keeravani, written by Shiva Shakthi Datta  As the song progresses, the visuals expand beyond the river sequence to introduce the world of Mahishmati and the story surrounding Baahubali.  There lay the most striking  central paradox  : the future of a mighty kingdom begins in the lap of a mother.

Pigeons and doves constitute the bird ‘clade Columbidae’  that include some 310 species.  In general the terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably. In ornithological practice, there is a tendency for "dove" to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones.  

The song's appeal lies in its almost devotional quality: the mother figure, the kingdom, the child and the idea of a larger destiny all seem woven together.

Mamathala thalli, odi Baahubali

Laalana theli, shathadha varali

Mamathala conveys affection and tenderness; thalli means mother, and odi means lap or embrace. 

The species commonly referred to just as "pigeon" is the Feral Rock Pigeon, common in many cities.  They lay one or two eggs, and both parents care for the young, which leave the nest after 7 to 28 days.  The birth of a pigeon is a fascinating little story of nature. From courtship and the formation of an egg to the hatching of a nearly naked chick, its feeding by its parents, the growth of feathers and finally its first flight, the entire process generally takes about six to eight weeks from egg-laying to fledging. The time can vary with breed, weather, nutrition and the individual bird.

The birth of a child brings immense joy to all concerned.  Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy and continuation of progeny.   Every year millions are born globally, in developed countries, most deliveries occur in hospitals. There is nothing greater in life than being blessed with a baby and seeing it for the first time, as the Doctor shows the new born is the greatest ecstasy -  newborns are traditionally whisked off to a bath within the first few hours of their birth.

In Feb24, a Pigeon  laid an egg on my window still – I had to protect is providing shade and whatever, yet after 25 odd days, it simply abandoned the egg and went away.  Some time later, another  Pigeon laid an egg again in the gap between my window glass (it was open for airflow) and the wire mesh – I had to do the parenting – collected some twigs, dry leaves, some thread and what not, tried making a comfortable home for the egg and next day saw another egg. After many anxious days, two young squabs came out of eggs, they resided for a few more weeks, before taking wings is another story – today’s tale is not all that good !! but a melancholic one

A pigeon usually lays two white eggs per clutch, often with roughly 40–48 hours between them.    Once the eggs are laid, the parents take turns sitting on them. This is called incubation. The usual incubation period is approximately 17–19 days, commonly about 18 days. Both the parents incubate and it not merely keeping the eggs warm. They also protect them from predators, rotate or adjust their position as needed, and maintain the conditions necessary for successful development.

In another apartment next to me – visible from my balcony and kitchen, Pigeons do build nests often.  This time yesterday I saw a well built one with more than 100 leaves and few twigs and two anxious Pigeons .. .. this morning all the leaves/twigs – the set-up itself was gone, may pushed down by themselves but .. .. .. there were two little eggs.

Then I saw predatory attacks by Crows .. a couple of times one of the Pigeons chased them away .. .. and few minutes later, I saw one of the eggs on sunshade of the building taken away by a Crow. The cruel, cunning Crow was able to move it, holding the egg in its beak – Pigeons cannot hold their own eggs in beak nor hold between their legs – so sometimes, eggs do fall from the height and get destroyed.  As we watched in horror, the Crow lifted the Pigeon egg and flew away – Nature !  ~ the other egg now stood abandoned by the Pigeon and a few minutes later, not found – either fallen down or taken by another predator.

Felt sad for the poor guileless Pigeon !!  :  https://youtu.be/0gw5cPqcYSY

 

Regards – S Sampathkumar

25.10.2026