Flying species in Con Dao (The last part)

Weather in the afternoon of Con Dao in July often has erratic changes. The sudden rains are enough to make moving on stone walls more difficult and dangerous than ever. The passage of travel between small islands is therefore always very up to date.

At the age of two weeks, the young Nicoba usually have a certain stamina. Because their nest is made high and quite discreet, it is hardly affected by the invasion of other species.

Rain brings the necessary moisture to the air, but also facilitates more aggressive insects. It was dark, and the young Nicoba began to stir in anticipation for their mother. At this stage, they still have not equipped the hunting instincts, even small insects buzzing around.

(Photo: Surfbirds, VTV) Early sunshine is not too harsh. The young bird seemed to have risen for a long time, it stretched itself to enjoy the rare sunshine on the nest. In these young birds, when the feathers begin to cover the whole body, the characteristic colors are gradually formed. The development mechanism of each flying species has certain differences.

The Nicoba species, when it was 3 weeks old, the parts that were quite well-formed but not fully developed. They were able to identify themselves around and especially the ability to recognize the same type from far away.

It seems that at the same time, the signals that are different from other species make the young more confused, which is the wings fluttering on the morning background. The mother Nicoba quickly identified her nest and swooped down. Even though the baby is looking forward to it, it has not yet come into the nest immediately, but the outside exploration is like finding something different. Only after not seeing anything dangerous, does it jump to the nest with its young. The young Nicoba is relieved under the protection of his mother. But only for a while, hunger after more than a night made the baby urge her to feed. But the previous day's rain caused the mother bird not to find as many bait as desired. And in response to the demands of young children, she wrung herself up as if to pour out what little accumulated from the previous day.

The food of this rare bird is quite simple, it is mainly forest fruits, especially very hard seeds and some ground invertebrates. Nicoba's feeding environment is often concentrated in mangrove or deciduous green forests.

Young birds are fed by their parents to feed from sources earned during the day. But the previous rain accidentally prevented it from acquiring the necessary amount of food, which may be the reason for the absence of the bird. Perhaps this time, my father is going to find food to make up for the time that the previous rain had deprived of it. The sea is probably always generous and endowed with all species.

Usually, parents go out to eat from early morning until late evening. Between 6.7 o'clock and 17 o'clock in the day is the time to eat and all night they are for young birds.

The size of the male Nicoba bird is usually significantly larger than the female. The lovely nest proved to be durable when it had to embrace the Nicoba family. Once reassured by the strong presence of the male, the female bird began to leave the nest to continue her work, but she still worked diligently every day. The male bird takes over the position and responsibility from the children perfectly, it doesn't seem to be a bit surprised.

In Nicoba species, the habit of breeding and taking care of young animals is quite similar to the bird's nest. Males and females take turns to feed and protect the young. It is the same during the incubation process. Night time is when both of them protect their next generation.

Nicoba dove (Photo: Klein, VTV)

The young bird after a few days of hatching has a fairly smooth coat. When it has not been covered all over its body, its fur has a black color and not yet has a blue color characteristic like its parents. That black color kept following the shadow time, when it was black, it was able to come out and get used to the self-control life.

The preparation process is clear for very young young birds. It must practice moving on the legs before it can throw itself into the space of the sea. Then it was time for him to inherit all those possibilities, that was when he had grown up. At that time, its eyes began to have a black inner membrane, the coat shone with metallic blue with a characteristic white color that was exposed to the tail. Its legs are strong and large to support body weight, and serve the purpose of feeding on different terrains.

Nicoba species lives concentrated in the South Asia coastal area. They discovered them for the first time in India's Nicobar Islands, so it was called with that name.

Their most recognizable feature is the structure and color of the coat, along with the winged bone system. Pipe hair structure also makes the difference only in this species.

Nicoba's life cycle is also quite long, after hatching from eggs about 5-7 weeks, it can live independently and gradually mature.

The presence of rare bird Nicoba in Con Dao recorded in this World Red Book has contributed to a richer and more diverse landscape of this island's natural beauty.

Part I.

Part II