A little over four months ago, the first Covid-19 case was reported in Kerala, on 30th January. Subsequently, as the number of cases started shooting up, Kerala went for a lock down from the 23rd March 2020 and the nation followed suit the next day. We are now into the third month and still don't know how long it will continue.
As usual, Pinks are Links. Click on the caption of each photograph to listen to the bird!
In the initial phase of the lock down, when movement of people were strictly monitored, all of us were confined to our houses, a self-imprisonment induced by an invisible Corona. Suddenly,
our eyes and ears became sharper and we started seeing and hearing things we never noticed before, in our monotonous lives!
Social media was flooded with messages of animals, birds, fish and all assorted creatures moving around places deserted by homo sapiens. Whether they were moving around with greater freedom now or it was only that we never had time to notice their presence among us, only time will tell. In any case, suddenly, everyone became nature enthusiasts overnight!
It is debatable whether nature took over when we temporarily abandoned spaces. Yes, there are definite indications that mammals, large and small, have started re-entering spaces that was rightfully theirs but
birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians were probably around all the time but we were too busy to notice. Of these, I can vouch for the birds. I have been pursuing them obsessively for a few years now and I know they have been around us all the time. The people who were used to leaving home early to beat the traffic and and returning late evening would have missed the show. Obviously, if you stop commuting during the critical hours of dawn and dusk, the eyes and ears start noticing thing they didn't see or hear earlier. No surprise there!
To most of us, it is the visual identification which is mandatory for anything to imprint in our brain. It is rarely that a call from the dense canopy 40 or 50 feet above us or from among the reeds in a pond, registers as a bird call or song. Without a mental image, the majority of us, cannot link a sound with anything animate or inanimate. Most of us have to 'see' the source of the sound to connect it to a sound, not the other way around.
When I started paying attention to birds, it was because my interest was to photograph them. It was, therefore, of paramount importance that I not only saw the bird but also found it on an ideal perch. That was what a 'good photograph' demanded. Slowly, as I turned from being just another 'bird watcher' and photographer to a listener,
I had transformed into a birder. In exalted company of a few like minded friends, my auditory apparatus perked up and eventually overtook my visual apparatus! My photography gear ceased to be as exciting as before, since my ears were now getting more adept at identifying birds.
Over a period of time, I realized that I was listing birds based on auditory clues than visual ones. It was a completely new experience and
the 'photographic eye' didn't matter any more. It used to be disappointing, earlier, if I couldn't sight a bird and get a photograph. Now, I didn't have to see one to know who was hiding from me.
My ears had evolved!
For, those who had started enjoying the beauty of birds during your self-imposed confinement over the last few weeks, I'm sure having to go back to work again will be depriving you of the simple pleasures of watching that bundle of feather go about its daily routine. Something you had grown used too, that helped soothe your frayed nerves and kept you busy during an otherwise frustrating lock down.
Fear not, you can still enjoy the company of your feathered friends even if you are in your office. If you have an office with a garden, all the more better.
There is no place with human presence, that birds haven't adapted to. All you have to do is perk up your ears and listen to the world outside, especially if your boss is screaming at you for nothing! It will definitely help you keep your cool.
Considering that the Corona issue continues to smoulder, flare up and smoulder again with no end in sight in the foreseeable future, birdsong will help you tide over this crisis in more ways than one. You can keep your boss out of your ear, your children entertained and your spouse happy because you are overflowing with the milk of human kindness. All thanks to the mellifluous tones the birds pour out around you.
This
post is peppered with photos of various commonly seen birds around our homes and office (in South India mainly). You may have either seen them or heard them but rarely connected the visual and auditory components to one bird. Unfortunately Blogger doesn't allow direct audio file uploads so I've put the
link to the audio file in the caption of the photos.
Each caption is link, which, when clicked, will take you to the
Macaulay Library Archives (← click here for link) of bird songs. That is where I have uploaded many of the bird calls (and photographs) that I have recorded. Once you are familiar with the song, you can identify the bird even if it is singing from somewhere far away and out of sight.
This is, by no means, a complete list of birds seen or heard around us. Common
birds differ according to location, altitude and habitat, so for a given location the list of birds in that area will be slightly different. I may have omitted many species, either because it is not seen commonly in the place I live in or because I don't have audio records of my own for them. You can check
Macaulay Library (← click here for link) or
Xeno-Canto (← click here for link) for more audio records.
If you want to know more about any species that you run across, I'd suggest you
look at some of the dedicated birding sites. One of the most comprehensive sites is the
eBird website (← click here for link) where you can explore more details of the bird you have seen or heard.
Finally, no bird calls or sings in a monotonous fashion.
Every bird has a large repertoire of songs that is usually reserved for different seasons and situations.
Bird song is more elaborate and usually heard during mating season while
bird calls are short and used to warn the flock or keep in contact. Some birds imitate very well and the racket tailed drongo is an expert mimic, able to imitate other birds, animals or even inanimate things. So if you listen only to one track, you might be missing some serious talent. Select a species on one of the above mentioned websites and listen to all the various calls and songs a bird is capable of.
I hope this post gives you a stimulus to
'look' at bird with your ears. Even during your busy day, tune your ears to pick up the bird outside your window.
It will be a lifetime of free music!
