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by Andrew Scott

One need not always travel hundreds of miles spending much time and money to observe nature's marvellous performances if only one cares to look around his immediate environment, with an observant eye of course.

Adventure is almost at our door-step and we have to search for it patiently. I live in the hill country city of Kandy, a paradise for the animal lover - specially the more humble and less significant creatures. I have closely observed the habits, moods and behaviour of many of these animals in our home garden and the study itself spread over a long period of time was very interesting and rewarding. Our garden, like any other ill-tended garden, has turned out to be a haunt for insects that creep, crawl or fly, small reptiles, birds and mammals as well as amphibians, specially frogs and toads. Some of these animals are diurnal. Some are nocturnal and a few others are both and some of these creatures are residents and some others are visitors, either regular or casual.

The common amphibians in our garden and in all other neighbouring gardens here are the frogs and toads. These nocturnal creatures spend the daytime hidden away in some crevice, under a stone or in oles sheltered by a fence or shrub and emerge from their hide-outs at nightfall. At night they come out in large numbers and become very noisy specially when they serenade their eligible 'lady-loves'. They live on unmolested except when the silence is disturbed by the raids of marauding owls or rat-snakes.

Some unwelcome visitors to our garden - snakes, visit us occasionally. Their sting can be fatal, but fortunately for us, not a single is resident even though in some gardens they are permanent residents. Rat-snakes (Gerandiyas), regular visitors to almost all home gardens visit us and their arrival can be easily known by the warning cries of squirrels (which our garden has in plenty) and the frightened cries of little birds on the nearby tree-tops.

A stream of mongooses, the mortal enemies of the cobras, come out from their hideouts under the shrubs, specially at dusk and sometimes, though rarely, I have observed late marauders leaving our premises after daybreak. The mongoose comes to the garden in search of lizards and other prey and will always appreciate rice and bread, whenever available. Because of its marauding habit the mongoose is an unwelcome visitor to many Sri Lankan gardens and whenever possible it is mercilessly killed specially by owners of poultry farms. Perhaps the mongoose will become extinct in Sri Lanka before long.

The common garden lizard (Katussa), has always interested me and I have often observed its unpredictable movements and the intricate act of laying eggs. The process of its laying eggs is quite fascinating to watch but it is surprising that many have not observed it even though it takes place in almost all home garden quite regularly. The female garden lizard is not shy and it is quite easy to watch her laying her leathery eggs. At first the lady lizard carefully selects the spot where she hopes to lay her eggs and begins to dig it.

I wonder what factors guide her when selecting such a spot. However, it is certain that these garden lizards too do possess some inborn instinct that influences their judicious actions. The female digs a narrow sloping hole about three inches deep and lays her eggs one by one up to about ten. Then she fills the hole in which the eggs are deposited using the same spil she had dug out using its fore-feet in the same manner as we use our hands and presses the soil using its head and levels it without leaving even a trace to show that a hole had been dug there.

Many feathered friends visit us, the most common being the crow (Kaputa) and the Etikukula. Both these birds are very useful in controlling snails, slugs and other little creatures which are found in abundance here. Early in the morning cocks crow and the crows bustle on the tree-tops. Honey birds dart across and sometimes tiny birds invade the house. At times seven sisters jump and twitter all over the compound reminding us of a gang of intoxicated labourers immediately after their pay. The magpie robin, nature's playboy, danced about in the garden and high up on the mango trees is heard the sharp cries of the naughty parrots, mynas and selalihiniyas. Sporadically king-fishers too are seen happily devouring their unfortunate victims snatched off from our little garden pond.

I have keenly observed the nesting habits of many of the birds in our garden and am greatly fascinated by them. There are great variations in their nest building from the artistic nests of the weaver birds to the untidy structures of the crows. It is quite clear that some of the artistically inclined birds exhibit an artistry and ingenuity which can hardly be matched by even human beings.

I have always wondered and admired at the ingenuity of the weaver bird, that little greenish bird with a loud voice, which inhabits the lesser frequented parts of our home garden. When building its nest the weaver bird carefully selects a leaf, pierces a row of holes along each edge of the leaf using its beak and makes a hollow cone from the leaf. The interior of the cone is then artistically cushioned using cotton, feathers or some other soft material. In some of these nests I have seen deposits of clay. Clay is used in this manner to weight the nest to prevent it from being dislodged by strong winds. Other little birds such as the Battichcha are not too shy to build their nests within sight of our house. Most of these nests are built of dried leaves and twigs and it is fastened to a forked twig with the help of its rim.

Occasionally we have visiting Kondeyas who build their nests within sight of our house, in an ornamental fence. They build neat nests using fibres and the female keeps vigil over her eggs and later the little ones too and the male flies far and wide bringing choice food for the sustenance of the entire family. During the migratory season butterflies flutter and dance adding colour to the entire countryside and this is the best time to observe closely the life cycle of these dainty creatures.

Bats, emitting their little squeaks are nocturnal predators that visit us, specially when there are fruits to feed on. One or two stray into the house too and I have placed obstacles and observed the amazing agility with which they avoided them. Our garden too, like any other garden here abounds with earthworms, humble and inoffensive little creatures, enrich the fertility of the soil and their greatest enemies are the birds, specially the early birds.

Like all other gardens our garden too abounds with a wealth of ants, specially the red and white ones, the latter are a great nuisance indeed. Throughout the day they are active and agile and there is a great bond of unity among them; these are noble qualities that man can learn from the life of ants.

Other little creatures in our garden specially during the wet weather are the centipedes, millipedes and leeches and all of them are a nuisance indeed.

Another unwelcome garden inhabitant is the scorpion. The study of the ways of the scorpion is very fascinating and the most important feature in a scorpion's life is that the female devours the male after mating! At night we have many geckoes which come down to feast on the left-overs. Once I venture to rare a gecko

which turned out to be a very lovable but unusual pet. Unfortunately it died of old age. Just now when the month of August approaches, crows build their untidy nests on the larger trees and later young ones hatch out and their feeble voices could be heard even from the ground level.

Of all my observations of animal life in our home garden two incidents will never escape my mind. The first is the battle between a large cobra and a puny mongoose right outside the kitchen door-step and the other is the unforgettable sight of a fully grown majestic porcupine lying prostrate right under the glaring light in our open verandah at night.

More than all these, nature's voices at night - the orchestra of the frogs, the chirp of the crickets, the hoot of the owls and the sequel of the bats, supported by the background sounds of smaller creatures illumined by the phosphorescent light of the fire-flies that cris-cross the pitch-dark environment always remind us that we are so close to nature.

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