The Stubbornness of Birds There is something almost admirable about the stubborness of birds, in their breeding season. I live in the rural outskirts of Ibadan, so birds are common here. Two species in particular are almost always around my house: the common kingfisher and the bronze mannikin. The mannikins have been breeding in my house for about three years now. They have somehow chosen my house as their community meat as they make nests in three different locations around my roof. One of those sites sits dangerously close to my electric wiring, and I was not about to let a bird's real estate preferences burn my house down. So I started destroying the nest at that particular spot whenever they built it, while leaving the other two untouched. I thought this was a reasonable arrangement. Generous, even. They disagreed. They kept rebuilding at the same spot, with the same confidence, as if I had not just dismantled their work the day before. I want to sit them down. Call a proper meeting. Put it to them plainly: I have given you two out of three sites. That is a 67% concession. In what negotiation is that not a win? What exactly are your objections? But birds do not negotiate. They just build. And build. And build again.
