Windows to Woods

During the lockdown, my Dad used to regularly go for an evening walk in our society's little jungle. This part of our premises is pretty isolated because of the vermiculture pits, but a nice foraging ground for a lot of birds. When my dad told me about the different varieties of birds he had seen, I couldn't stop myself and joined him for the walk for the next few days. The bird that first caught my eye was quite a dancer😂 - the White-spotted fantail. Fantail, the word itself is its meaning. And this very fact makes it very easy to identify any species of the fantail. Like many others, these birds too like to eat worms and insects, so there are a lot of them. They were continuously jumping around on the branches, spreading their tail in the fan shape with that adorable looking face. White brow, black eyes, sharp bill, white belly running up and fusing with the black chest in white spots, and the beautiful grey fan at the back. Doesn't that look cute? Just look at him, or h...

Among all this chaos Red-vented Bulbul was a bird that was always calm and composed. Constantly making a faint sound in the background, just waiting for you to notice. While watching the other birds, I always found the bulbul just sitting around and observing everyone with an innocent look in its eyes. Unlike Salunki and Parakeet , the bulbuls are neither a fan of dancing nor chattering. Even if you find a couple of them sitting together, they can hardly be seen talking. In the evening, however, a soft melody lingers around in the atmosphere. This is the soft song being sung by the bulbuls. As the sun begins to set, this melody slowly turns into a very harmonious chatter. "Melodious chatter" quite contradictory, isn't it? But it's true! In fact, for a long time, I didn't know about this. However, one day I paid a visit to the small jungle in our society and witnessed this beautiful song. At first, I was not sure of the bird, but on following the direction of the ...