Lips of wine

I tasted your sweet lips, thrilled to my fingertips

Lips of wine, warm with fire, you are my one desire

Lips of wine, and they are mine

While tropic breezes play, while palm trees gently

sway

Lips of wine, come to me, whisper low so tenderly

Lips of wine, and they are mine

When one sees the Red-billed leiothrix for the first time, one would perhaps be reminded of the above song, "Lips of Wine " . It was a popular song of yesteryears 

performed by Andy Williams and written by Sy Soloway and Shirley. 

The very look of Red billed leiothrix is intoxicating and it is popularly called the Bird with the Red lipstick. Perhaps it is the most photographed bird of Chakki Mod in Himachal Pradesh where it has a considerable population. 

It is indeed a beautiful bird. Adults have bright red bills and a dull yellow ring around their eyes. Their backs are dull olive green, and they have a bright yellow-orange throat with a yellow chin; females are somewhat duller than males, and juveniles have black bills. 

One has to just go to Ishwar Dhabha on the Chakki Mod -Bhojnagar stretch and sit there to see these playful beauties on the logs placed by Ishwar Bhatia and his wife. At any moment you will find scores of them feeding on the grains placed by the family. 

Chakki Mod never disappoints given the number of bird species found there. However, on a low day even when no other birds are spotted, be rest assured that you will get the  Red billed leiothrix. 

At the Ishwar Dhaba they are bold and  their playful antics are the finest examples of healthy human  bird coexistence. The credit does go to the caring attitude of Ishwar and his family. 

 In our early days of birding in Chakki Mod, finding even one or two red billed leiothrix was challenging but certainly exciting. It remained in thick undergrowth and just having a glimpse of it made our day. But now you find them all over the place , their population has not only increased , they are no more weary of the humans.

 Lips of wine never get satiated as  more you see , more you will want. 

You will never get bored watching them , photographing them, appreciating  them. 

Red billed leiothrix clicked in Chakki Mod, Himachal Pradesh . 11 February 2023. Nikon D 500, 200-500 mm.