Maa brings breakfast

A mother little grebe brings breakfast to its chick in the wetlands of Chuadanga -- a scene of tender love. These tiny waterbirds live on ponds, marshes, canals and flooded fields from Europe and Africa through Central Asia to Japan and Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh. Expert divers, they slip under with barely a ripple, chasing small fish, tadpoles, insects and snails before popping back up with a meal. Little grebes build floating nests hidden among reeds and gently cover their eggs with wet plants when they leave. Once the chicks hatch, the striped young often ride on their parents' backs. Though listed as Least Concern, the little grebe's future rests on clean wetlands, threatened by drainage, pollution and disturbance.

PHOTO: MONJUR MORSHED