When Parth Bapat (sir) gifted me the 'Birds of Bombay' book- a bird identification
guide by Sunjoy Monga, he pointed to the cover and said-" you can even see this bird in the city". I had been a non-believer then, for it seemed that the white tailed beauty depicted on the front of the book would choose habitats too pure- pristine forests filled with song birds, instead of the dirt and grime of a city like Mumbai. I was to be proved wrong within a mere year. It was late September- the heavy showers had stopped and inermitent rains greened the surroundings. This is when I noticed a brown bird with a black head that would flit around endlessly from one branch to another- ever on the prowl for the (I assumed) myriad insects that monsoons throw up! A variety of creatures participate in this feeding frenzy- drongos diving behind emigrant butterflies, white breasted kingfishers beating geckos against tree barks, Garden lizards lapping up countless insects, or a striped keelback swallowing up an unsuspecting frog- and they all add to the colors of India's monsoon. So anyways, I looked at this bird for a while and then rushed for my bird book and my pair of binocs. The orange brown body, a flight like the drongo's, the agility of the white browed fantail and the enthusiasm of a pimpled teen while pursuing that odd butterfly- had me hooked. It took me a while to believe that I was looking at the female of an Asian Paradise Flycatcher! And then, I was ecstatic! I remember wishing that a male would appear to court the female and in an almost human way identified this bird as the ' Most Eligible Bachelor' of the birding world. I made a few unsuccessful attempts to capture it in all it's glory on my camera, but I am just not good enough with it. So I gave up on that and focused more on enjoying the dull saffron magnificence of the female. A few weeks after spotting the female, I'd reason to be overjoyed again. For perched saintly on a branch of a Siam Cassia, ensconced comfortably among the flaring yellow flowers, I saw the male Asian Paradise Flycatcher... The bird might have been smaller in size, but for the tail streamers that lend to it a majestic appearance. The black crowned head and the delicate, pure body of the bird had me mesmerized. And I just stood there, staring open mouthed at this beauty, for never in my life had I seen such grace in any creature of the earth. That was in October,2006. Today, as on 6th October,2010, the paradise flycatcher still had the same effect on me. I stood transfixed as the bird flitted from branch to branch, tree to tree, chasing insects, getting chased by a crow, all the while it's long tail trailing behind it, left wisps of beauty and grace in it's path. P.S: The birds continue to visit the Siam Cassia
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AuthorRamblings on wildlife sharing spaces with non-wild humans Archives
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