The Jungle Chatterer | Photo credit: Getty Images
IDuring the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that came with it, I was able to meditate on the beauty that was waiting for me right outside my window. The monotony of a busy life had almost blocked out the orchestra of birds playing outside. But when nature forced us to perceive it, I was one of the lucky people who had the luxury of obeying it.
The lockdown coincided with the birds’ breeding season. As the world fell deafeningly quiet, the passionate calls of birds seeking mates filled me with a feeling of warmth. It was an affirmation of life at a time when the world seemed clouded by death. The robin was the bird that first interrupted my reverie. It looks like a charming knight in a black cloak with white stripes. It had cried itself hoarse to woo a mate who had perched on the neighbor’s balcony. I don’t know what happened to the poor lark, but I was enchanted by the world of birds.
For someone who was afraid of the jungle birds tapping on the glass windows with their beaks, this new-found pleasure came as a surprise. From then on, I started observing the scenery of the ancient Indian Jujube tree with the regularity of a devotee. I was rewarded with sightings of many beautiful birds including the Coppersmith’s Barbet, Brown Rock Chat, White-throated Kingfisher, Brahminy Starling, Red-rumped Bulbul, Red-wattled Lapwing, Collared Dove, Purple Sunbird and Indian Spectacled, all from my balcony! All these are native birds to my area and I continue to spot them. However, there is one that I have only seen once and, what is more, there has been a mystery attached to it since at least June 29, 1946, when Dr. Salim Ali discussed it in a Bombay broadcast of All India Radio.
The bird I am referring to is the Crested Cuckoo. Being a parasitic bird, it does not build its own nest but lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, usually barbets or jungle pipits. There are two distinct races in India, one is native and found in the peninsula, the other is found in the north and is believed to migrate from Africa to India to breed during the south-west monsoon. In northern India, the bird has never been observed during the winter months, while on the African continent it is known to be absent during the Indian monsoon. But surprisingly, it has not been sighted in any of the possible locations on its journey!
The solution to the mystery has eluded us so far. A joint initiative by the Indian Space Research Organisation and the Wildlife Institute of India in 2020 to track two of the birds using a 2g transmitter on each of them remained inconclusive. The last report said that the transmitter of one of the birds, named Megh, had stopped sending signals.
Every time I see a new bird, I get excited. The birds I already know have become like old acquaintances to me, their presence is endearing but rarely makes the heart beat faster. However, I am sure that if I see the Crested Cuckoo again in my life, I will feel the same feeling of enchantment as a new discovery. Because when our ignorance is coupled with the joke of an athlete who wants to improve on her previous performance, she gives us the sweetest pleasure!
