Decoding the nightjar !

March 10, 2019. A team from Chandigarh comprising Mr Arvind Syal, Mr Rakesh Suthar, Mr Navtej Singh and me arrive at Kaelsar in Yamunangar District of Haryana specifically to click pictures of crimson and purple sunbirds that flock there to sip nectar from purple colour wild flowers. There the team was joined by Dr Rajiv Kalsi Professor and Head Department of Zoology M.L.N. College Yamuna Nagar and   Dr Janak Chowdhary, a renowned ENT Specialist who loves to do micro photography of tiny insects and spiders.  The sun was up and hot . The time was about 09 30 hours. 

While we were focusing our cameras to get good pictures of sunbirds, our eyes   fell on a  bird sitting motionless in the thick  dry foliage Its colour perfectly matched the dry brown leaves that were scattered all over. While the camouflage was perfect, our instincts knew it was after all a  nightjar, the master of  camouflage.  We could not believe our eyes as we turned our camera to take some photographs. The thick branches of the trees  around hampered the light and we hurriedly scrambled to alter the camera settings without much success as we knew it was now or never. A couple of  clicks and the sound emitted by the crumbling of dry leaves under out boots  alerted the bird as it took a low flight into the thick forest area . All we could hear was its piercing  sound and then there was pin drop silence. For all of us from Chandigarh, it was for the first time, we had seen a  nightjar  though Dr Kalsi and Dr Chowdhary  had often seen it many times though not during day time. It is more of a . nocturnal bird. We gave dejected looks at each other as if   we had  missed our golden  opportunity to click the bird that was a delight  and challenge to any bird photographer?  It was so near and yet so far. 

Nightjars are the mystery birds about which little is widely  known except that they sit virtually motionless during daylight hours merging completely with their surroundings . However, they get active when dusk sets in  to feed on insects till dawn, mostly taking their prey in flight, mostly by keeping their mouths open in flight.  To spot them during daylight hours require a great amount of luck. The mystery if remain unresolved leads to myths and superstitions. 

The sound returned and so  our hopes. The bird returned to its original place of hiding.  All of us silently reminded ourselves to remain where we were and wait for the bird to emerge in the open. As our luck would have it, the nightjar flew and perched itself on a branch in the open at the eye level, barely few feet from us, sitting still. The light was perfect. The photo session began and most of us had turned our cameras to continuous mode as all of us wanted to take as many photographs as possible. Later, Dr Janak Chowdhary rightly said, "It was a life time experience to shoot Nightjar at day time , it was sheer luck indeed." The bird flew away and we prudently decided not to chase it any further. It had already obliged us and we need not disturb it any more. Even though it was getting hot, a cup of coffee each from Dr Rajiv Kalsi was very refreshing. Our day was made.

Back to the pavilion with our trophies in the shape of RAW images stored in our cameras, it was time to identify the nightjar specifically. Even though it had a large tail, I thought it was Indian nightjar. Quite a few concurred with me until Dr Gurpratap Singh, a renowned expert on birds opined that his candidate was Large-tailed Nighjar. He said that majority opinion is not always correct. According to him, " the cryptic plumage of  Nighjars renders them unsuitable for straight forward identification."  According to him, nuchal collor, throat-band, tail pattern, width and length of the tail, characteristic markings etc are to be keenly observed for true identification. It is certainly a mystery bird that requires minutest detailing. Biding is not easy thing to do. Every day there are challenges and new learning, a new experience.  Certainly unraveling the mysteries of the feathered creatures is very exciting.  In the  Indian sub-continent , besides the  Indian night jar and the large-tailed nighjars, we have Great eared nightjar, jungle nightjar, grey nightjar, european nightjar, egyptian nightjar, syke's nightjar, jerdon nighjar, andaman nightjar and the savana nightjar. 

Mr Vikramjit Singh a prolific writer on wildlife in his column in Time of India dated April 24, 2017   mentioned that Shivalik range is a haven for nightjars. he wrote, "Ideal spots to photograph and hear their charming calls are the check dams along the Shivaliks such as Perch, MIrzapr and Siswan dams. He was of the view that various nightjars look alike, it is best to identify them from their distinguished calls. 

Well!   Keep your eyes wide open and keep your ears well oiled. There may be  a nighjar  around to be  seen, understood and deciphered. Decoding the nightjar ! 

Why do Cormorants spread their wings?

Have you ever wondered why Cormorants spread their wings wide with a crucifixion-like posture , according of course a delight to watch with enough photography opportunities?

Well ! The most obvious reason of course is to dry their feathers after a swim or dive to catch their prey. However, there are some more explanations, with differing views and observations from experts. Number of theories have been propounded.

These include casting a shadow on the water to have a better vision to spot their next target, have a better balance on land, absorb heat to digest their food by exposing their bellies to the glow of the sun, to signal to other cormorants the availability of food or merely to rejoice their success in catching their target.

However, Dr Robin Sellers, a professional engineer and amateur ornithologist, having observed this posture of birds for years have negated most of these theories concluding that this posture is all about adapting to the wind to dry their feathers.

According to his findings published in published his findings in the journal Ardea, when the wind was up to, or more than, a strong breeze on the Beaufort scale (4 or more), cormorants spent, on average, 2.5 minutes standing like crucifixes. With hardly a flutter in the air (0 to 1 on the scale) they stood with their wings out for nearly five minutes and generally extended them further. The birds also faced the wind - more than half of them orienting within one compass point of its direction when conditions were virtually still, but more than 80 per cent when a good breeze got up. According to him, Cormorants tend to hold their wings out for longer in lower temperatures and when they had been under water for longer. Light rain reduced their fervour and heavy rain put a stop to any spreading at all.

If wing-spreading signalled feeding success, the birds would not do it when diving proved unsuccessful. And the theory of casting a shadow on the water only helps birds that adopt a stand-and-wait strategy - like herons - rather than those that dive as much as 10 metres down in murky water.

Dr Sellers calculated that between 30 and 90 grams of water have to be expelled from a cormorant's plumage after an average dive. It would need up to 222 kilojoules of body heat to evaporate it, an amount that could be sacrificed providing enough fish were caught to make up for the loss.

On the other hand, Dr David Gremillet of Neumunster Zoo in Germany says that wing- spreading may, after all, be a digestive aid. He found that cormorants that feed on cold fish held their wings out, often for 20 minutes and when fed on pre-warmed to cormorant body temperature hardly bothered to make a wing movement. His conclusion is that cormorants expose their bellies to absorb the sun's heat, a warm glow that aids the digestion.

Dr Chris Mead of the British Trust for Ornithology acknowledges that wing-drying and digestion aids may jointly explain the cormorant's striking stance. He says the heating up their food is the most important reason. Why else would cormorants be all black if it wasn't to absorb heat through their plumage?

Whatever may be the reason for their postures, Cormorant diving in the water, catching the fish and spreading their wings wide open with their black glistening bodies are a delight to watch.

The pictures are those of Little Cormorant were clicked in Thapli, Haryana, India during September, 2018 

The Masters Craftsmen at work!

Master Craftsmen at Work ! 

During the monsoons, in this part of the country and elsewhere, it is a common sight that birds of sparrow-size with bright yellow crowns, dark brown masks, blackish brown bills, upper parts dark brown streaked with yellow, yellow breasts and cream buff below busy weaving beautiful nests. These are the Baya Weavers known for their unique nest-building capabilities that may have taught humans their first lessons on how to weave intricate designs and construct marvels of civil engineering. Weaver birds’ nests demonstrative of their fantastic unmatched skills and the hard work that goes behind them are one of the most sophisticated ones among the bird nests. Amazingly the nests are 100 per cent water proof that can withstand even huge storms as hardly any nest has been seen falling off.

Male Baya weavers elaborately weave nests that hang pendulously from mostly palm trees or thorny Acacias. The nests are retort-shaped, with a central nesting chamber and a long vertical tube that leads to a side entrance to the chamber. The opening is placed on the east side of the tree, proving shelter from South-west monsoons. The nests are woven with long strips of paddy leaves, rough grasses and long strips torn from palm fronds. Each strip can be between 20 and 60 cm in length. It has been estimated that the male bird makes around 500 trips to weave the nest which takes 18 days to complete with about eight days for the intermediate "helmet stage".

The nests are woven with long strips of paddy leaves, rough grasses and long strips torn from palm fronds. Each strip can be between 20 and 60 cm in length. The bird uses its strong conical beak to strip and collect the strands to weave and knot them with its beak and feet while building its nest. Even though isolated nests are not unknown, Baya Weavers mostly build their nests in colonies.

The nest building exercise of Male Baya Weavers is an important and integral step in courtship as the quality and location of the nest determines if the female selects the “builder” or not. The nest is partially built before the male begins to display to passing females by flapping its wings and calling while hanging from its nests. The females inspect the nest and signal its acceptance of a male. Once a male and a female are paired, the male goes on to complete the nest by adding the entrance tunnel. Males are almost solely in charge of nest building, though its female partner may join in giving the finishing touches, especially on the interiors It is believed that the female gives due importance to the location, even more than the structure. They prefer nests high in trees near water and food source rather than those over dry land and on thin branches. If even after few days, if no female occupies the nest, the male weaver will itself destroy the nest and start all over again. It is believed that a single bird may build up to 50 nests in a single mating season before eventually making the perfect one for the female to reside. Once the nest is occupied by the female, the male baya weaver rejoices merrily as if it is on the top of the world. Why not? After all, its labour has been well recognized and appreciated.

Since so much labour goes into building the nest, it would be cruel if we pluck these intricate structures to decorate our own homes with them as some people just do it that way or even just for a thrill. Please do not. Have a heart for these beautiful little birds that have taught mankind the art of weaving, civil engineering and quality and safety consciousness.

Pictures were taken in Thapli, Haryana, India on 19 August 2018 from a distance taking the necessary precautions not to disturb or distract the birds.

'Hidhud' of Culture

'Hudhud' of Culture

Ever since my childhood, I have been fascinated by the “crown of feathers’ of  Hoopoe   with its long tapering bill, foraying for insects and seeds in our school ground with its distinct call that gave its nomenclature. Little I knew that this bird was centre-piece of cultural ethos spanning across continents of Asia, Africa and Europe , with number of folktales woven around it.  

Hoopoe  is distinguished by its colorful complexion, its long, swooping beak and slicked back tuft of hair. The bird builds its nest in tree holes and has a notoriously fetid odor, keeping excrement in its lair to ward off intruders. To protect the nest from predators, the hoopoes use a wide variety of defenses. The female produces a foul-smelling secretion from her glands, and coats the plumage of the chicks with it. This smell keeps predators and parasites away, while also acting as an antibacterial agent. Also, a week after hatching, the babies can shoot streams of their feces towards predators, while hissing loudly like a snake to scare them away. The birds may also stab with their sharp bills, and hit out with their wings, when threatened.

In Islamic tradition , it is believed that Hoopoe obtained its golden crest from King Solomon for “not paying homage to women.” As the story goes, Hoopoe was hunted for the golden crest and finally pleaded with the King to remove its Golden Crest. The king turned that golden crest into fine feathers. The relationship of the bird does find reference in the holy book, the Quran. When the King declared publically to punish Hoopoe for its absence in the court, Hoopoe who was eavesdropping returned to tell the King that he found a thing that the King had not comprehended. It said that he has come from Sheba with some happy “tidings.” Sheba later became the Kings Queen. The saying, “ A little bird told me….”  probably originated from this event.  Unsure about the queen's purity and motives, Solomon confided in the bird and trusted its advice. The king also praised the hoopoe's observation techniques and called it "wise." In Quran , it is called “Hudhud”.

There is an interesting  though infamous tale in “Metamophese” by Ovid. King Terus of Thrace rapes the sister named Philomela of his wife Procene and cuts off her tongue. Procene as a revenge kills their son Itys and serves as a stew to his father. When Terus sees the head of the boy, he picks up the sword to kill the sisters but they turn into birds, Philomela into a nightingale , Procene into a swallow while he himself becomes a hoopoe. The bird’s crest is believed to project his royal status and its long sharp beak is a indicative of the violent nature.

In Oriental-Semitic traditions, the hoopoe is considered as a waterfinder, a natural “opener”. The hoopoe is said to be able to see through the earth and reveal hidden springs, endearing it to those living in desert areas. In Persian culture, it is seen as a bird of virtue.

In the epic Persian poem “The Conference of Birds” or “the Speech of Birds” by Attar of Nishapur, birds from across the world gather to decide who shall be their leader. Hoopoe, being wisest of all, suggest that they need to find the legendary bird Simrogh for which they will have to cross the seven valleys of Quest, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unity,  Wonderment, Poverty and Annihilation. On hearing the description of these valleys, they bow their heads in distress; some even die of fright right then and there. But despite their trepidations, they begin the great journey with Hoopoe leading the journey. On the way, many perish of thirst, heat or illness, while others fall prey to wild beasts, panic, and violence. Finally, only thirty birds make it to the abode of Simorgh where they see their own reflection in a lake. They eventually understand that they themselves are the Simorgh; the name “Simorgh” in Persian means thirty (si) birds (morgh).

 In Egypt, during the time of the Pharaohs, it was regarded as sacred. The same applied in Minoan Crete, where it was depicted on wall paintings in temples and tombs.  Even today it remains a popular status symbol, being chosen in 2008 as the national bird of Israel .