Life At Mitthi

Whi..Whi..Whi… Whi, a quick loud whistling sound heard approaching the tree outside the kitchen, near the waterbody. A distinctly different call from the sweet notes of sunbird, oriental magpie, Indian robin or any of the bulbuls. At first, I expected kingfisher or a variety similar to it since our waterbody has plenty of mollies, which attract such birds. By the time I could get a good look at it, it flew away with its catch. I could not get a glimpse of its prey nor its features. Could only gauge its size and color, which is not sufficient information to identify it. Thereafter, whenever I was in the kitchen, I would keep my ears on guard for the whistle. We had good supply of its food so was assured of it. And as expected it did come again. A small bird, dull grayish brown in color, with a dark cheek patch, a pallid white brow patch above the eye, a strong head and a sharp hooked bill. It fed on dragonflies hovering on the water-body. Announcing its arrival with its pec...

Oriental Honey Buzzard Gujarati Name : મધીયો બાજ Hindi Name : Madhuya Ahmedabad gets really hot in summers ( around 45-48 deg Celcius). Even though we stay indoors, it becomes unbearable without air conditioners. Even animals around our house, dogs, cats and birds reduce all their activities post 11 am only to resume at around 4 or 4.30 pm. So, it is unusually quiet in the garden in afternoons in this season. Last week, while busy with my meeting online one evening, sitting near a window, I saw a shadow of a large bird flying by. Suddenly, all the birds dispersed frantically for shelter. It was definitely a predatory bird which had come for surveillance. I wanted to leave the desk and investigate but that would seem so unprofessional. Oriental Honey Buzzard So, once I was disengaged, I leapt for my camera to take a chance and see if the bird was still around. Fortunately, things had not returned to normal out there. Changing into dull earthy colored clot...

Gujarati Name : તેતર , ધુળીયો તેતર Hindi Name : सफ़ेद तीतर Most of the common birds of India such as parrots, sparrows, peacocks, crows etc play a significant role in our folklores in the form of tales, poems, proverbs or riddles. One of the most popular riddle has Grey Francolin as the lead. तीतर के दो आगे तीतर तीतर के दो पीछे तीतर आगे तीतर पीछे तीतर बोलो कितने तीतर The first time I heard this, I admit, I paid little attention to ‘Teetar’ and was least interested in how it looked. Even though most of my childhood summers I have spent in villages (Baramati) in Maharashtra or (Kapadwanj) in Gujarat, I had never seen nor heard this bird. The first time I heard it was in 2016, when we moved to ‘Mitthi’. For many months I could only hear their call ….’ka…tee..tar…ka…tee…tar’ or ‘ pa…tee..la…pa…tee..la’ while they remained camouflaged. These birds come to feed on the grains we scatter for them at the far end of our garden. One quiet afternoon, a casual glance towards the feeder...