"Swadhinatar Sukh" (The Joy of Freedom) is a famous poem by Rajani Kanta Sen about the weaver bird and its nest, and there are many other songs, rhymes and poems like it. But the chirping of weaver birds is rarely heard now, because the palm tree, the bird's favourite home, is itself disappearing.

Since ancient times the small weaver bird has been seen building its nest mainly in palm trees. Its tightly woven nest is a unique work of art. Just as the palm tree, a heritage of rural Bengal, is no longer seen, neither is the weaver bird, the hero of the poet's verse.

As the palm trees standing on one leg at the edges of village fields, beside ponds and along rivers decline, the artistic weaver bird is vanishing too, and its chirping is no longer heard. Indiscriminate tree felling, the use of pesticides, the menace of hunters, unplanned house building as human settlement grows, and the adverse effects of climate change have pushed it towards extinction.

In a field between Khodabaspur and Molladangi villages in Korakdi union of Madhukhali upazila in Faridpur, farmers grow their crops. A few palm trees stand around the field, and weaver birds are busy weaving their nests in them. The nests are as attractive to look at as they are strong; even a violent storm does not tear them down. Standing before the palm trees at dusk, one can hear the birds' melodious chirping and see them courting in their artful nests.

Md Soleman Sheikh, a farmer from Molladangi village in Madhukhali, said: "There are about six or seven palm trees in this field. Every year I collect sap from the palm trees. But because one tree has bird nests on it, I have refrained from tapping that tree, so that the birds do not get frightened and leave."

Md Adar Sekh, owner of the land and the palm tree, said: "Long ago these (weaver bird nests) were seen all the time, but now they are no longer seen. Palm trees are declining too, and the weaver bird is not seen at all. Suddenly, a little while ago, the birds built nests in my palm tree in the middle of the field."

Faridpur folk poet and cultural activist Bijoy Poddar said: "The palm tree and the weaver bird are disappearing from among us. You may see a few palm trees in the villages, but weaver birds are not seen at all. If you travelled the whole of Faridpur district, you might find weaver birds and their nests in just eight to ten palm trees. The weaver bird seems to be at the very edge of extinction. One day it may be seen only in the pages of books and in songs."

Madhukhali Upazila Forest Officer Md Jahidul Rahman said: "Because of excessive destruction of forest land, biodiversity is facing disaster, and that is why various species of birds are disappearing. Under government directives there are strict penalties for killing birds and destroying their habitat. We are trying to create safe shelter for birds by planting trees along both sides of the roads. To keep these, each of us has to become aware in our own place. We must plant palm trees, stop the indiscriminate killing of birds, and refrain from disturbing their habitat."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.