One afternoon, I find a dead house sparrow chick (“sparrow”) that has fallen from its nest onto the stone floor in the garden. The corresponding nest is located above it in a ventilation shaft on the house wall. Despite precautions and monitoring, they managed to set up a nest there. Occupied nests must not be removed during the breeding season. For humans, a chick falling from the nest is a symbol: for failure before the first flight, for the harshness of nature, for the fragility of beginnings. But what happens within the bird parents themselves? Do they grieve? Do they recognise loss? Read more