NFBE Chapter 231 "Master Architect" Magpie
Chapter 231 "Master Architect" Magpie
"Yes," the two children replied in unison.
"Mother, can magpies build houses too?" Canglan Jingyao blinked her big, bright eyes and asked with a face full of curiosity.
"Of course," Su Nuannuan replied with a smile.
"However, magpies are very particular about where they choose to build their nests. Before they start building their nests, magpies, like clever architects, will first conduct a careful on-site investigation of the surrounding environment. Then, they will often choose to build their warm little home at the top of a tall tree."
At this moment, Canglan Jingcheng, unable to contain his questions, quickly interjected, "Mother, why don't magpies build their nests under the eaves of our houses like swallows do? Wouldn't that be more convenient and safer?"
Looking at the two adorable children, Su Nuannuan patiently explained, "The reason why magpies build their homes at the top of tall trees is that it allows them to successfully avoid all kinds of potential dangers from the ground, while also enjoying plenty of sunshine and an incredibly wide field of vision."
Hearing this, Canglan Jingcheng still seemed unsatisfied, and he immediately pressed on, "Mother, what exactly does the magpie's home look like? Is it as beautiful as the palace we live in?"
Su Nuannuan smiled and shook her head, saying, "The magpie's home can be described as a very luxurious building, no less than the palace we live in."
However, Canglan Jingyao tilted her small, delicate head and retorted with a puzzled look, "Mother, but I clearly saw that the magpie's house looked very simple before! It wasn't as luxurious as you described."
Su Nuannuan smiled gently and whispered to Canglan Jingyao, "Silly child, you've only been deceived by its seemingly rough appearance. In fact, the magpie's home is like a meticulously designed three-story luxury residence. Although it may not look particularly impressive from the outside, it's a hidden paradise inside."
The outermost layer is meticulously woven from withered branches, which intertwine to form the incredibly sturdy framework of the nest. Don't underestimate this seemingly chaotic pile of branches!
You should know that clever magpies put a lot of effort into finding every branch to build their nests! Whether it's the size of the branch or the degree of its curvature, each one undergoes an extremely strict selection process.
The middle layer consisted of soft mud, painstakingly carried by magpies from afar. They carefully and evenly spread this mud around the nest, then tamped it down firmly with their claws time and again. In this way, the already sturdy nest became even more impregnable!
Even after the mud layer had completely settled, the magpie didn't stop its busy work. It once again took flight, searching for soft, fluffy reeds and colorful feathers. Once it brought these materials back, the magpie began carefully and meticulously decorating and lining the inside of its nest. And so, a truly exquisite "soft furnishing" project was successfully completed!
Canglan Jingyao, who had been intently listening to the magpie build its nest, suddenly asked her mother, "Mother, magpies are clearly resident birds, yet they've built their nest so high up in the treetops. I was wondering, when the dead of winter comes and the snowstorm rages, won't their nest be blown down by the fierce winds and snow?" Hearing her daughter's interesting question, Su Nuannuan's face immediately lit up with a pleased smile, and she praised her daughter generously, "Yao'er, that's an excellent question!"
Then he continued, "This is where the magpie's intelligence lies. The magpie's nest looks like a sphere. Unlike other bird nests that have an exit at the top, magpies leave small openings on the side of the nest to facilitate entry and exit, depending on the wind direction, in order to cope with the arrival of wind and snow."
In addition, the unique three-layered structure of magpie nests can effectively block external wind, frost, rain, and snow, keeping the inside of the nest dry and warm.
"The magpie is so clever! It truly deserves the title of 'master builder'! It's amazing that it can build its home so high up in the tree and still protect itself so perfectly." After listening intently to his mother's detailed explanation, Cang Lan Jingcheng clapped his hands excitedly and shouted with great enthusiasm.
Seeing this, Canglan Jingyao, who was standing to the side, also clapped her hands excitedly in agreement.
"That's why the magpie is considered a star of wisdom among birds! Did you know that it can even recognize its own reflection in a mirror? And when it encounters a hardened steamed bun, it knows to soak it in water first, and then enjoy it after the bun has softened completely?"
"Wow, magpies are really amazing!" the two innocent children exclaimed in unison, their faces beaming with joy.
Then, Canglan Jingyao blinked her big, bright eyes and asked her mother curiously, "Mother, can birds 'chat' happily like we humans do?"
Hearing her daughter ask such a question, Su Nuannuan suddenly felt a pang of regret—she shouldn't have told the children about magpies! These two little devils were practically walking encyclopedias of questions.
If it weren't for having read various books and materials related to this topic in my past life, I'm afraid I would have been stumped by these two clever little devils.
But since things had already come to this point, she couldn't just not answer, could she? So, Su Nuannuan gathered her thoughts a little, and then smiled as she explained to the children, "Actually, different kinds of birds may not be able to communicate with each other, meaning they may have difficulty communicating smoothly; even birds of the same kind may sometimes have difficulty understanding the vocal signals they make."
"Why?" Cang Lan Jingcheng asked with a puzzled look on his face, his clear, watery eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Because bird language also has dialects. Just like us humans, different regions have their own unique languages."
“Just like the foreign languages that Mother taught us, if Mother hadn’t carefully taught us, we probably wouldn’t have been able to understand their meaning at all, right?” Canglan Jingyao replied.
Su Nuannuan nodded, indicating that she agreed with her daughter's words.
"So, foreign languages are something that can be learned and mastered through hard work. Similarly, birds can naturally learn their own languages as they grow up. Even different species of birds living in the same area can understand each other's sounds," Su Nuannuan continued with a smile.
"Mother, don't you think it's like this? Just like those myna birds kept in the palace, after spending a long time with us humans, they not only learned to speak human language, but they can also understand what we say, right?"