IN the branches of a tree ringed by a giant net, a loving couple is in the midst of their lovemaking. Raising his white crest, the male continually tries to arouse the female by pecking her. "This wont go on long. After two years, usually the male gets bored. They wont produce any more young," sighed bird fancier Mario Blanco, 49.

This is the behavior of the bird that Balinese give the name curik Bali or Bali starling (Leucopsar rothschildi). The B