ARTICLE : GAMES BIRDS PLAY

 GAMES BIRDS PLAY

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

21/X/2021

Since it started raining in June our friends Mr & Mrs Kingfisher went missing. One would hear their calls once in a while but they would elude the vicinity of our house for reasons best known to him. We never disturbed them but it appeared that they were too shy or afraid.

 The ledge of our roof, the top of a street light pole, the highest branch of the coconut tree, a dried branch atop the mango tree in the backyard were the usual places. When they nested in summers, the pair would come and sit on the TV cable hanging in our backyard. From there they used to glide to their nest which was a burrow in the sand wall. Once the job inside the nest was done, they would return in turns and sit at the same place before taking flight.

Moment it would land on the cable, the cable would rock back and forth. He would fix his sight onto something and then keep swaying with the cable keeping his head stable and in sync with the movement of the cable. Not once would he take his eyes off from his target till some other bird would come and swoop on him. That dance on the wire was so unique, like the stab systems of our BMP firing mechanism. No matter where the ICV went the cannon would be aimed at the target.

It is now again that these fellows have decided to give us an appearance in a while. Their stoppage is so short that it is not easy to photograph them. Even if the bird obliges, the light and the stability of the hands become a factor to take a shot. Sometimes the dogs on the road don’t like their rattle and bark at them, making them abandon their perch.

With so much thick vegetation which has grown during the rainy season, trees too have grown dense canopies. Many times one can hear the kingfishers call but cannot spot it hiding deep inside. Electric wires along the road are another place we do find them but those are across our colony boundary wall. To get a good capture in the camera becomes difficult.

This morning, instead of the Kingfisher it was the crows which drew my attention in front of our neighbours across the road. They are scavengers for sure. Cawing and collecting at one place meant there was food. We found a few of them congregating on the front steps but what exactly they did was what was noticed today.

There is a stand on which a pot is kept. Nothing unusual about it. One has passed by that pot many a times. When I saw it through the lens of a camera, I saw there was an ‘incense stick’ stand. The ash on the top soil was very prominent. It definitely was a ‘Tulsi’ bush which is part of every Indian household and is given a prominent place at the entrance.

Now one could put two and two together. Every evening the lady of the house lights those sticks and does her prayers and leaves some prasad at the feet of the Tulsi which our crow friends enjoy in the morning.

I remembered a colleague of mine told me that feeding crows was considered a blessing. I asked him, what does he feed them. I broke into laughter when he told me ‘Kurkure’. Marwaris feed ‘ganthia’, but this was the next level of ‘spoiling’ a crow. Kids once addicted to Kurkure are difficult to wean off.

We were posted in Nabha. Our buddy would take our daughter for a ride on the cycle every day. It was when along with my clearance form one got a long bill of Kurkure from the baniya that one got a jolt. Our two-year-old would wait in the evening for Bhaiya to come so desperately. Off they went and she used to return the most happy child. One packet of Kurkure and our girl could spend one hour munching on them. Of course, the baniya noted it in his diary. Pradeep is still in touch with us. God bless him always.

As I drifted into nostalgia, I reached the end of the road in our lane and this time the Kingfisher called from very close. One has to be very careful as the ‘wrigglers’ are always on the prowl. There it was sitting on a branch and was keeping an eye on me. He posed and I clicked till one dove came and disturbed our friend who flew into the jungle behind.

We keep playing hide and seek with these birds almost on a daily basis. Isn’t it fun to play such games? I wonder!!!!!!!!!!

JAI HIND

© NOEL ELLIS