DANCING DRONGOS

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

29/III/2025

As the summer heat has picked up. It has become mandatory to water the pots daily. Post Holi the frequency from twice a week became once a day in a jiffy. Temperatures would be soaring to 45C soon. Plants look up to you for their ‘Thoolo drink. I have a nozzle fitted to the hose which gives the effect of rain.

This spray is one of the most desired things in the morning. Even the birds which hang around the garden love it.

For the Hummingbirds and Tailor birds the champa leaves become a bathtub of sorts. They ruffle their feathers and groom themselves before going for their daily chores. Bulbuls, Sparrows, and Doves frolic in the puddle of water which accumulates in the drain. It becomes a watering hole and a bathing point, till that water finally gets drained. After feeding on grain, they dive down to have a quick drink and wash.

It was another lucky day for me today. A bird which I had photographed last year near the riverfront came calling. This black bird with a split in its tail is known as a ‘Drongo’. Out of the blue, a pair visited our garden. Never had they come so close to our home. The best part was, they were not afraid at all.

With a hose pipe in one hand and a cup of tea in another, my temptation to take their photographs got curbed. Instead, I enjoyed capturing those moments in my eyes and memories. I called their moves the ‘Dance of the Drongos’.

Ellis’ Garden has been privileged that way. Flying low, those birds sat so close that one could have kissed them. Before I scared them away, I decided to make do with a ‘flying kiss’ from where I was and continued to water the pots.

Their presence had already agitated the Sparrows and Bulbuls who were flying past my head and sitting on the hanging pots overhead, chirping at the top of their voice. I understood their predicament, but left them to fend for themselves. They too needed to learn how to fight invaders. Drongos are non vegetarians, thus a chick or an egg of birds nesting around would always be welcome. Just like we have sausages and salamis for breakfast.

As I showered the champa tree, the dancing Drongos dived in and out as if playing hide and seek with each other. It is mating season, so I thought this must be their wooing moves. That was not to be. The jet spray was disturbing numerous moths and butterflies hiding in the foliage, which they were catching for breakfast.

Had it been a normal day, these birds would have tried to hunt those insects and shoo them out of hiding. I was assisting them to catch several insects with far less effort. In the bargain, they too got sprayed by water droplets which they enjoyed to the hilt.

After lots of zip zap zoom dives, both of them came to roost on a tree and later the lightning conductor and groomed themselves. A thorough shake of feathers, then an extension of one wing followed by the other to let air dry them while enjoying that moth they had caught.

As I moved to the pots in the garage, they dashed in there too. Here, there was a burst of moths which emerged from amongst the pots, like a volcanic eruption. Bulbuls joined to feed on them; rather they were unhappy because their territory was being invaded. Nevertheless, it was a sight to watch all of them do shikar. I thanked them for helping me get rid of insects for free. Moths lay eggs, which turn to larvae which eat the leaves. Birds are natural insect control devices.

The Drongos had their fill and flew across the road. It was time for me to move in. With a shake of the water jet, I bid them goodbye. They too soared to their next destination.

Will the ‘Dancing Drongos’ return during the next watering session? I wonder!!!!!!