Windows to Woods

Imagine you are roaming around in a garden, early in the morning. The weather is cold, the air is filled with silence and as far as your sight goes, there is no one with you. Suddenly you hear this sound (Audio credits: ebird.org) Creepy, isn't it?😂 Even though it may sound creepy right now, this sound is associated with omens in many cultures. You may have heard it from your parents, relatives, or the elderly that catching sight of the Greater Coucal brings you good luck. The Greater Coucal, i.e. our Bhardwaj pakshi. Well, I don't know about the good luck part, but watching this bird up-close in its natural habitat will definitely make your day. I have been living in this society for 9 years now, and all those years went by observing the Bhardwaj from a window on the 11th floor. The first time I got to see this bird at eye level was one of those days when I visited that mini jungle. Moreover, this first look was kind of funny as I saw the Coucal with a potato in its beak whil...

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 ...

The second and one of the most common birds that I'll be writing about is the Common Myna i.e. Salunki. Their eyes are their most attractive feature which gives them the Sanskrit name "Chitranetra", meaning "one with picturesque eyes". The bright yellow patch on their head looks so beautiful with a wonderful grey-black banded eye in the middle. Just like parakeets, mynas are also capable of making different kinds of sounds. Sometimes it becomes quite confusing to identify the two just by listening to the sound. Speaking of which, mynas are very noisy creatures and are always ready to fight. This behavior gives them the other Sanskrit name "Kalahapriya", meaning "one who likes to quarrel". These Chitranetras are fond of dancing here and there and chattering continuously. During the lockdown I always watched them dance around on the bamboos and chirping all day. They also used to visit us (not really visit) with Neem seeds in their beaks. They ...

The sound which started this journey was that of the beautiful Alexandrine parakeet. Over the years, the day to day hustle of school and college never really gave me time to look at these beauties, despite being aware of their presence. About 2-3 years ago, my mom and I saw a few parakeets chattering in the neighborhood. When we carefully observed their actions we came to know that they were actually trying to carve a hole in the wall of a house! Yes, a hole in a concrete wall! The residents of that flat had bought an AC whose fan was installed outside that room, with one or two pipes going towards it from the inside. This small hole that was made for those pipes was later carved into a nest by these parakeets! But wait, that's not how it started. One fine evening, while I was busy watching FRIENDS and cringing over the lockdown, I heard a distinct sound - somewhat annoying though. I went to my mom to confirm if it was of parakeets. It was one of the rare times when they hanged to ...

Hello there! Welcome to my blog. I have been thinking about blogging for quite a long time now but couldn't think of any topic. This year's pandemic gave me one. While all of us were locked inside our homes we tried many different things to stay away from boredom. I got driven towards something which led me to this blog. So what am I going to blog about? We all know that during the pandemic, there were restrictions imposed on all of us but some. These "some" were roaming around freely without any fear of getting punished. Who? Well, of course, the birds and animals. I know it's not new that they loiter around everywhere making all kinds of sounds, especially the birds. But, do we ever "listen" to them? Have you ever wondered what could be the meaning of every different type of "noise" they make? Or have you observed how these sounds change from sunrise to noon to sunset? Or even how our surroundings and their rapport with these innocent beings ...