At first, I considered the repetitive sound of the bird, some kind of irritation. I had just woken up from sleep, and was trying to put my head around a subject when the interruption began. Kpegege, Kpegege, Kpegege, sounded the bird. It came in waves of three. It seemed each wave came after a pause to take in air.

When I looked through the window to see what was producing this sound, I saw this goldchested bird with a mixture of blue, green yellow patches on its head. I was beginning to admire its beauty when as if that was some kind of cue, it began again, Kpegege, Kpegege, Kpegege. What in the world did it mean? What kinds of secrets were embedded in the sound? Was it a call, a protest, a prayer or was it a song?

The sun was unusually hot, the generally cold atmosphere, which had been the dominant weather situation in my side of town in recent weeks, had suddenly changed. Late in the afternoon yesterday, the sky was overcast with dark clouds but the rains did not come. It’s been like that for days yet the rains refused to come. But we did not miss the rains because the weather was cold. Very cold. I don’t recall hearing the Kpegege, Kpegege, Kpegege sound all the while. That is why, I suppose the bird may have been calling attention to the change in weather. Are birds affected too? How much of our actions have brought significant disruptions to their lives? Do such little creatures have rights as the rest of the us? Rights to live peaceably and enjoy the gifts of nature, as the rest of us? Specifically, do they have rights to express how they feel, regardless of their size compared to ours?

Speaking of expressing their feelings, are we permitted to discount the expressions of others on account of differences in language and medium of expression? And should we classify their sounds as irritation just because we do not understand what they are saying?