A Magical Moment

by Hootoksi Tyabji, Shah Alam, 2023

It was a dark and rainy morning, and I was rushing up the stairs to our living room when I felt something brushing against my leg.

I turned on the light and saw a small black bird fly into our bedroom where all the windows were closed. I called Rob and together we searched for the little creature but couldn’t immediately see it.

Suddenly, Rob spotted it crouched on the floor behind a curtain and the moment he went towards it, it took off! 

We knew it would be difficult to chase it all around the house and not knowing what to do I began talking to it, imploring it to allow me to catch it so I could set it free.

What happened next stunned us - the little bird stopped flapping, and crouched by the wall near my feet where I was easily able to pick it up! 

It was perfectly calm, I placed it outside our dining -room window on an air conditioner from where it flew off at great speed!

It was truly a magical moment, we were amazed at the way the little bird responded to my voice and allowed me to set her free!

We think she was a Swift, one of the 18 species seen in Malaysia.