Darter: the hug me bird

Darters are large sized slender bird that can be found sitting next to water body with its wing spread as if to hug someone. In reality these birds like their closer cousins cormorants don’t produce oil that water proof their feathers and so has to dry their wings constantly, so much so darters found in America migrate to get bright sun. The reason for lack of waterproof feathers is that like most birds they are light and have to increase their weight, waterlogged feathers allows it to dive easily and helps faster underwater movement. However, once they emerge from the water, they need to dry themselves. They also squeeze their feathers through their bill to remove excess water and repel water with oil from their enlarged preen gland at the base of the tail. It has great difficulty getting off the water if it attempts to fly while its wings are wet and takes off by flapping vigorously. Darters are widespread without being common. They inhabit either fresh or brackish water and can be found in lakes, rivers, marshes, swamps, estuaries, bays, lagoons and mangrove swamps. It prefers tree trunks, branches, stumps or posts fringing the water, for resting and drying its wings.

Darters got their name as they use long (about twice the length of the head) sharply pointed bill to spear or thrust prey when they dive, the fish is pierced from underneath, brought to the surface where it is flicked into the air and then swallowed head first. Smaller items are eaten underwater and large items carried to a convenient perch and then swallowed. Darters are also known to spread their wings and tail underwater to lure fish into the shade underneath, before spearing them. They are also referred to as snake bird as they have snakelike head and a very long curved neck, and often swims with only the neck above water, with side to side movement like a snake ready to strike. They have short webbed feet making them excellent swimmers, submerging without even a ripple (10 on 10 effort in Olympics!!) their eyes are set in the beaks for efficient underwater hunting. While its gait is clumsy on land, it can soar gracefully to great heights on thermals, soaring on motionless wings, it makes cross-shaped silhouette when flying giving an impression of a glider.

These birds belong to the family Anhingidae. In south Asia the commonly found darter is refered to as Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster). There are four living species. The word "anhinga" comes from the Brazilian Tupi language and means devil bird or snake bird. The stamp posted herein is from Liberia (President of liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is Africa's first elected female head of state), the painting of darter is from Audubon collection.

I came across these lines by Nobel Laureate Richard P. Feynman (1918-1988)

"You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world,
but when you're finished,
you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird...
So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing - that's what counts.
I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something."

How precise!!. Feynman was an American theoretical physicist who was widely regarded as the most brilliant, influential, and iconoclastic figure in his field in the post-World War II era. He was one of the celebrated and revered scientists of modern times, he was multifaceted and had interest in many fields. Feynman remade quantum electrodynamics—the theory of the interaction between light and matter. The problem-solving tools that he invented—including pictorial representations of particle interactions known as Feynman diagrams—permeated many areas of theoretical Physics in the second half of the 20th century. Feynman invented a theory of “partons,” or hypothetical hard particles inside the nucleus of the atom, that helped lead to the modern understanding of quarks.

In his memoir Feynman mentions the reason for being in the Manhattan project. He says he felt the possibility of Nazi Germany developing the bomb before the Allies was a compelling reason to help with its development for the U.S. However, he goes on to say that it was an error on his part not to reconsider the situation when Germany was defeated. Feynman also talks about his worries in the atomic bomb age, feeling for some considerable time that there was a high risk that the bomb would be used again soon so that it was pointless to build for the future. Later he describes this period as a 'depression'. (all inputs taken from Net).

Only the righteous see the kingfisher

One can understand why this is a Irish folk saying (recorded in Richard Mabey’s Birds Britannica) since the most common sighting would be of a small, vivid glint of electric blue darting low across a lake or river and by the time you can say "Look there! A Kingfisher!" it’s gone. Some even call it the “Flying Jewel”. Plumage shining in metallic blue and turquoise, its orange-chestnut head and breast, with the white spot on the throat and its spectacular hunting behavior makes it really a precious bird. When I see this bird my mind talks about Darwin my heart thanks God!!.

Common kingfisher (the pic above taken at Karanja lake Mysuru) is a sparrow-sized bird with typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long sharp massive pointed bills. Kingfishers are chunky birds, they have short necks and large heads and stubby tails. Their bodies are short and plump, and legs and feet are small, a shape that helps them diving into the water. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations to enable it to pursue its prey under water (I happen to see a program in National Geo. wherein they focused this ability of kingfisher, they did it brilliantly. Every time I watch these programs I am amazed). The flight of the Kingfisher is fast, direct and usually low over water. Its color and brevity always leave an impression. There are 86 species of kingfishers and are found all around the world except polar regions and some oceanic islands. Most species live in the eastern hemisphere, especially in southeast Asia.

Kingfishers range in size from the tiny African dwarf kingfisher, 10 cm long, to the laughing kookaburra of Australia (known for its laughing call), 46 cm long. In India three species are generally seen: White breasted, Pied and Common. The Common kingfisher is smallest and less shy. It is often seen perched on a stick or branch overlooking a ditch or pool watching intently for fish (occasionally hovering above the water's surface), bill pointing down as it searches for prey. It bobs its head when food is detected to gauge the distance, and plunges steeply down, two seconds later it emerges, clutching a prize in its beak and stuns the fish by beating it against the perch before swallowing it.

Kingfishers are highly territorial, and so are always found solitary. They are a vulnerable to habitat degradation through pollution or unsympathetic management of watercourses. They are seriously affected by build-up of chemicals, and river pollution by industrial and agricultural products. The presence of this bird therefore is an indication on not only the standard of water but general ecosystem. They nest in tunnels in earth banks (forest or wood kingfishers may live far from water), therefore concrete water banks in cities do create nesting problems, city authorities can create artificial nests or spaces.

There is a medieval folk tale in Europe that kingfishers were originally plain grey bird it acquired its present bright colors by flying towards the sun on its liberation from Noah's ark, its upper surface assumed the hue of the sky. Phrase Halcyon Days- days of idyllic happiness or prosperity, Halcyon came from the Greek word for kingfisher. It is often considered a bearer of luck and augmenter of money, and also seems to be of importance as a weather prophet. Kingfishers are probably most popular birds when it comes to stamps and almost all countries around the world have come out with stamp on Kingfishers (the stamp posted here is from Luxemburg). The painting herein is by none other than Von Gogh (painted in 1886).

These few lines taken from a poem by Mary Oliver titled The Kingfisher

The kingfisher rises out of the black wave
like a blue flower, in his beak
he carries a silver leaf. I think this is
the prettiest world--so long as you don't mind
a little dying, how could there be a day in your
whole life that doesn't have its splash of happiness?

As I was going through these I found that Mary Oliver is an incredible woman. She is a Pulitzer Prize (1984) wining American poet, influenced by both Whitman and Thoreau, and is known for her clear and poignant observation of natural world. Oliver has also been compared to Emily Dickinson, with whom she shares an affinity for solitude and interior monologues. I read many of her poems the other day and think she is amazing (I pity myself for not reading her much earlier). Also her liking for Whitman, Thoreau and Dickinson makes her endearing. She loves the outdoors, in the nature. Says Oliver “Whenever I would leave home, I would say ‘I’m going in,’ whenever I would go back in the house, I would say ‘I’m going out.’!!”. Now that is what I love about people. She asks this question “Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” . There are some writings that become very personal the moment you read Mary Oliver’s poem The Journey…

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Red whiskered bulbul: the ecstatic little bird

Red-whiskered Bulbul is a member of the bulbul family, are short-necked slender passerines is a common Asian specie from Pakistan and India to southeast Asia and China (incidentally this bird is absent in Sri Lanka). It has been introduced to different parts of the world as cage bird. There are approximately 185 species in this genus (red vent bulbul is another popularly found bird in india). The Red-whiskered Bulbul was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in 1758 in his Systema Naturae.

Red-whiskered Bulbul’s characteristics are its pointed conspicuous black crest, red whiskers (leading to itsname) red vent, sharp beak curved at the tip, thick black stripe running from its beak to neckline. The tails are long and the wings short and rounded. This bird like cuckoo you hear first before spotting, they are melodiuos unabashed singers. The flight is bouncing, it gives an impression of a bird that is immensely happy with life, the attitude is infectious (the reason why watching birds can be an ecstatic experience). It prefers wooden localities (and hence commonly found in hills) with bushes and shrubs, and are found next to human habitats. They are easily tamed and are popular as a cage bird. They are so popular that many kids are named bulbul.

Bulbuls feed mainly on fruits, berries, insects and sometimes do crop damage. In Hawaii these escaped caged birds are banned they have been accused of destroying orchid plantations because of bud and flower damage as also spreading the seeds of invasive plants.

Bulbuls are non migratory birds, they are known for their songs, the reason why it was taken to different parts of the world as caged birds. In Middle East they even find mention in Persian poetry. Last but not the least like stilts they too feign injury to distract predators from the nest.

The pic taken from hills of Kutta (Western Ghats), it is a small town on the Karnataka-Kerala border. This place was a pleasant surprise, and strongly suggested to bird watchers. Few Kms of morning walk and I saw atleast 30 species of birds (including fan tailed drango). Unfortunately the pics didn’t come out properly except the red whisker as they are tolerant to humans. I guess I might take few more years to get better lens, anyway I shouldn’t be complaining and consider myself fortunate to have atleast this camera.

Carl Linnaeus: poet who happened to become a naturalist

I recall learning about Linnaeus in school, it is only recently I came to know that he was an amazing man. Linnaeus was one of the greatest and inspiring man of his time. Rousseau wrote: "Tell him I know no greater man on earth". Goethe wrote: "With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, I know no one among the no longer living who has influenced me more strongly. Clearly that is an amazing credential. Linnaeus put the binomial nomenclature in place. This was a major achievement since it put all known species (and elements) in a systematic way, helped in easy classification and study. It was brilliant (in school it was miserable experience trying to mug these!!). He is rightly considered as father of modern taxonomy, creating a universal language. And it is this incredible guy who gave us the name homo sapiens..

Behold the Brahminy Kite

Brahminy Kites (Haliastur indus) are one handsome looking raptor, marble white and chestnut colored lower half. They are found next to water bodies and coastal regions. They have powerful talons with which they scoop the prey. These are non migratory birds, very tolerant to humans and so can be found in abundance in coastal towns and wetlands, marshy fields. Commonly found in Asia and Australia they look similar to white-bellied eagle (but eagles are bigger in size, and white bellied are darker coloured) A characteristic distinguisher of Brahminy kites from other Kites is that it has round tail (more like a hawk) unlike forked tail common among kites.

In Hindu mythology, this kite referred to as the ‘king of birds’: the Garuda. The celestial carrier or vahana of Lord Vishnu and hence given the status of a deity by the religious scriptures and is worshipped. I read in the Net that the origin of name Brahminy is from Brahmin. In Hindi it is referred to as brahminy cheel while in Tamil, Malayalam they are Krishna parunthu, in Kannada Garuda. In ancient India heroes who died heroic death were sometimes immortalized as garudas. This bird also has a sacred reference in Buddhism too. The emblem of Jakarta (Indonesia) is Brahminy kite, even the airline is named Garuda airlines. Incidentally Brahminy kite is endangered specie in Indonesia. In recent times a cigarette company has instigated demand for this hapless bird as pets, this I read in the Net: Femke Haas, founder of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network, says a recent cigarette advertisement sparked local demand for the Brahminy Kite. “There is a big commercial, and they are using this bird as their icon, and now many birds are being sought by private pet owners because they think it’s cool to have these birds, since it’s an icon for this big cigarette company. And actually you see this all over Jakarta and all over Indonesia, big pictures of this bird.”

Pigeon: the city bird

Pigeons and doves include some 300 species of birds. In general parlance the terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably. In ornithological practice, there is a tendency for "dove" to be used for smaller species with pointed tails and "pigeon" for larger ones. The young doves and pigeons are called "squabs". Unlike most other birds doves and pigeons produce "crop milk", which is secreted by a sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop. Both sexes produce this highly nutritious substance to feed to the young. The nestling obtains this “milk” by poking its bill down the parent’s throat.

The largest species are the crowned pigeons of New Guinea, which are nearly turkey-sized. The Common Ground Dove is among the smallest species in the family. This family is a highly coherent group with no members showing obvious links with other bird families, or vice versa.

Feral pigeons, also called city doves, city pigeons or street pigeons, are derived from domestic pigeons that have returned to the wild and have become adapted to life and are abundant in towns and cities all over the world. These show a variety of plumages, although some have the blue barred pattern like the pure Rock Pigeon does. The scarcity of the pure wild species is partly due to interbreeding with feral birds. Wild Rock Pigeons are pale grey with two black bars on each wing, domestic and feral pigeons are very variable in color and pattern. Rock Pigeons have been domesticated for several thousand years, giving rise to the domestic pigeon. As well as pets, domesticated pigeons were utilized as homing pigeons and carrier pigeons, and so-called war pigeons- well known for their ability to find their way home from long distances therefore used for thousands of years to carry brief written messages. Pigeons have been tamed since at least 3000 BC.

Pigeons feed on the ground in flocks or individually. They roost together in buildings or on walls or statues. There is an interesting fact on pigeons when drinking most birds take small sips and tilt their heads backwards to swallow the water, pigeons are able to dip their specialized bills through which they can suck up water steadily and drink continuously without having to tilt their heads back. Did you know that Dodo- the extinct bird- is classified under the same family (Columbidae- subfamily Raphinae) as pigeons?. Dodo was a pigeon!!!.

While many species of pigeons have benefited from human activities (and even considered nuisance in cities, they put spikes to avoid them) many other species have declined in numbers and some have become threatened or even succumbed to extinction. 10 species have become extinct since 1600. Around 59 species of pigeon and dove are threatened with extinction today, this is 19% of all species. Most of these are tropical and live on islands. The Passenger Pigeon is an example of extinct bird that was not island specie (the painting of passenger bird from Whitman collection).

In the Old Testament in the Bible, Noah sends out a dove after the flood. In the New Testament a dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. In Islam, doves and the pigeon clan in general are respected and favored because they are believed to have assisted the prophet of Islam, Muhammad in distracting his enemies outside the cave of Thaw'r in the great Hijra. According to the Tanakh (Jewish holy book), doves are kosher, and they are the only birds that may be used for a korban. White pigeons in the contemporary world are considered as symbol of peace. In Hindi it is called kabutar, Malayalam pravu.

I came across this remarkable man who had done more study on pigeon than anybody else. Charles Otis Whitman (18

42–1910) was an American zoologist author of numerous research studies. At the age of 50 he took up pigeons for his research. Why pigeons? He said that he kept pigeons as a boy, and was fascinated by them and watched them by the hour. But it was more than that. He felt that there was a fallacy in Darwin's theory of randomness in evolution, and that by making a broader study of many species of pigeons and doves -- a broader study than Darwin's -- he might demonstrate new evolutionary truths, even directional change. Financed by Whitman himself the birds were not kept at the Zoology Laboratory. "His house was surrounded by pigeon cotes, and he always had some birds under observation indoors, so that the cooing of doves was for years a dominant sound in his house. He took care of the birds for the most part himself, though he usually had the assistance of one or two maids”. He thus actually lived with his birds constantly and very rarely was absent from them even for a single day. He made observations and kept notes on all aspects of the life and behavior of each species, as well as of such hybrids as he was able to produce. He always had one Japanese artist at work continuously drawing pigeons (incidentally Whitman is credited to have introduced modern zoological studies to Japan). In the latter part of his life the collection comprised some 550 individuals representing about thirty species.

At the University of Chicago he selected and taught only those pursuing advanced research. Forty-four of these obtained the doctor degree under his direction, many of them to become famous biologists in turn. Seven of them used pigeons and doves for their research: (1) Michael F. Guyer, spermatogenesis; (2) Eugene H. Harper, fertilization of the egg; (3) Mary Blount, early embryology; (4) John T. Patterson, later embryology; (5) Oscar Riddle, feather growth, endocrinology, biochemistry; (6) Wallace Craig, Behavior; (7) George W. Bertelmez, embryology. In addition to these, Whitman influenced a number of other investigators to pay attention to pigeons. These include R. W. Shufeldt in osteology; R. M. Strong, feather structure; T. H. Morgan, heredity and Harvey A. Carr, Behavior.

Whitman was influential to the founding of classical ethology. A dedicated educator he made major contributions in the areas of evolution and embryology of worms, comparative anatomy, heredity, and animal behavior. Modern research discoveries in biology and genetics suggest that he had some prophetic insight. Here then was a great figure in the history of pigeon biology, a man to whom we owe even more respect than he is generally accorded.

I came a blog that titles itself as People for Pigeons and states "People for Pigeons is concerned with the protection and preservation of mankind's oldest domestic bird, the gentle and loyal pigeon. We support pro-pigeonism".

The Painted Stork needs no painting!!

The Painted Stork, Mycteria leucocephala, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae of the order Ciconiiformes. Storks can be found on all continents except Antarctica and occur in most of the warmer regions of the world. They have a strong preference for tropical climates, and the only representative in North America is the wood stork (same genus as Painted Stork), which has a small and endangered population in southern Florida. There are nineteen different species of stork. Ciconiiformes like most families of aquatic birds storks seem to have arisen in the Paleocene, 40-50 million years ago. Though some storks are highly threatened, no species or subspecies are known to have gone extinct in historic times.

The Painted Stork is tall and slender, standing about 3 feet tall with a large heavy yellow beak and an orange/red head. It is white in color with black markings and delicate pink on the lower back and has pink legs. It breeds in Asia from India to southeast Asia. The Painted Stork (‘dokh’ in Hindi) is a broad winged soaring bird. Till 18 months of age, the young ones can make loud calls to attract their parents, after this, they lose their speech Storks have no syrinx (the vocal organ of a bird, consisting of thin vibrating muscles at or close to the division of the trachea into the bronchi).and are mute, giving no bird call; bill-clattering is an important mode of stork communication at the nest the storks communicate mainly by clattering their large bills or hissing, or by visual "displays" such as bowing to each other or spreading their large wings and use other signals to convey something to their fellow birds.

At a distance a flock of White Storks may be confused with Common Cranes, but cranes fly in neatly regimented V’s and lines, storks in rather more chaotic gaggles. Also the easiest way to distinguish storks from herons in flight is though both fly with their legs trailing, herons fly with their necks retracted, whereas storks fly mostly with their necks outstretched. Storks live in mainly lowland habitats and many species prefer wetlands but most Storks tend to live in drier habitats than the related herons, spoonbills, and ibises. Nests of painted storks look like cluttered dirty blobs of white on the tree tops. Both male and female look the same, though the female is slightly smaller in height.

Painted stork has a place in the list of protected species. The species is placed as ‘Near Threatened’ in the IUCN Red List Category 2008 (as evaluated by BirdLife International), because it is thought to be undergoing a moderately rapid population decline owing to hunting, habitat destruction, local trade and agricultural pollution. Among the species of stork the Oriental white stork, Storm's stork, and greater adjutant are considered to be endangered species; the lesser adjutant and milky stork are listed as Vulnerable, and the black-necked stork are listed as Near Threatened .

Storks have often been held in great affection by people. Many of the myths and symbolism is tied to the stork. In medieval European societies the details of human reproduction were difficult to approach, especially in reply to a child's query of "Where did I come from?"; "The stork brought you to us" was the tactic used to avoid discussion of sex. This habit was derived from the

once popular view that storks were the harbingers of happiness and prosperity. The Hebrew word for stork - "Hasida" was equivalent to "devotee" (namely a devout, God-fearing, religiously observant or righteous, pious and kind woman); it is in fact the female form of the word "Hasid" which became identified with the Hasidic movement of Judaism (started in 18th century East Europe, it was basically about focusing Rabbi as conduit to god). The very common surname in Czech "Čapek" means "littlestork". (all details taken from Net).

This poem titled The Stork by Eugene Field (1850-1895)-referred to as children’s poet.

Last night the Stork came stalking,
And, Stork, beneath your wing
Lay, lapped in dreamless slumber,
The tiniest little thing!
From Babyland, out yonder
Beside a silver sea,
You brought a priceless treasure

As gift to mine and me!

We all know there are many postures in Yoga that is taken from animals and birds, I came across one on Net that was referred to as Stork pose!!. It is done to increase balance and stability. The is from Vietnam. The painting in here is by an Indian artist Shaikh Zayn-Al-din (1770-1790), unfortunately not much detail about him is available on the Net.

Busy busy Sparrows

Sparrows are physically similar to other seed-eating birds, such as finches. The house sparrow (or English sparrow) is a member of the weaver bird family unlike the native North American species called sparrows, which belong to the finch family. House Sparrows are found indigenously in Europe, Africa and Asia, highly gregarious they are found in cities and settled rural areas; they are rarely seen away from human habitation.. In Australia and the Americas, early settlers imported some species which quickly naturalized, particularly in urban areas. The bird was first introduced into the United States about 1850 to combat cankerworms, and it rapidly became widespread (with a population estimated as high as 400 million). In the US, the House Sparrow is one of three birds not protected by law (the others are the Common Starling and Rock Dove or Pigeon). House Sparrows commonly kill adult Bluebirds and other native cavity nesters and their young and smash their eggs.

The case though is not in favor of sparrows in urbanized and metropolitan cities, these congested concrete cities have given no space for birds, and sparrows have become rare sight in Indian cities. I read about one Mr. Prakash Vijay of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district who is trying to help sparrows find space, an incident that killed a sparrow by a ceiling fans blades inspired him to do something for the these birds. I read this news clipping on the Net about him: In a unique gesture to showcase his special care for birds, he has resolved to promote nest culture. He has taken to creating artificial nests with plaster of Paris, which enable people to accommodate a small space for birds to nestle at their residential places. In the wake of growing number of small flats, felling of trees in the name of urbanization or development and limited water sources left in the open for birds or animals, these artificial nests offer a good alternative for birds to nestle and survive. Apprehending that many sparrows and other birds may one day meet the similar fate of vultures whose number has drastically dwindled here, Prakash felt driven to do something for the little birds. Besides, Prakash motivates other residents to patronize the ‘nest culture’ so that many birds may have a decent and safe place to stay and breed.
I guess all of us do recall the time when sparrows were in abundance with constant chipping sound they made. Most household did keep some food for birds, and sparrows did make messy nest against the window ventilation or electricity meters, in olden houses the photo frames that were hung at an angle. And yes sparrows hit by rotating fan blades were also common occurrence. These lines (poem) by Ranjit lal on sparrows
There was a handsome young sparrow,
Who thought he could fly like an arrow,
Through fan blade that flashed,
But alack and alas,
The gap between them was too narrow!

Another one here is by none other than William Wordsworth on joy of watching Sparrows nest…

The Sparrow's Nest
Behold, within the leafy shade,
Those bright blue eggs together laid!
On me the chance-discovered sight
Gleamed like a vision of delight.
I started---seeming to espy
The home and sheltered bed,
The Sparrow's dwelling, which, hard by
My Father' house, in wet or dry
My sister Emmeline and I
Together visited.

She looked at it and seemed to fear it;
Dreading, tho' wishing, to be near it:
Such heart was in her, being then
A little Prattler among men.
The Blessing of my later year
Was with me when a boy:
She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;
And humble care, and delicate fears;
A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;
And love, and thought, and joy.

I read the above poem few times and the more you read more it starts to grow on you, the innocent years of childhood.

There is an interesting piece of information here in context to sparrows. China doesn’t have a national bird, so Since 2003, the National Forestry Bureau and China Wildlife Protection Association have been soliciting (official and serious) candidates from various provinces for a National Bird of China. The most popular candidates have been the red-crowned crane, the magpie, the hwamei, and the golden pheasant, with the crane being the most popular. However, allegedly due to the Latin name of the crane being Grus japonensis (Japanese crane), the decision to name a national bird has been delayed!!. How can Chinese national bird have a ‘Japan’ in its name is the strange thinking?!!. Even birds cannot be isolated from historical wrongs, amusing. In the meantime someone decided to hold an ad-hoc online poll where anybody can vote. Among 10 common birds found in China, the house sparrow emerged as the “winner”!!. That set of some interesting debate among the netizens. Here I have copied few comments, some are quite hilarious
jxsd512 wrote: In my mind, the selection of a national bird doesn’t need to be restricted to those birds with high pedigree and beautiful coat. Our standard of selection shouldn’t be restricted to the external qualities (of birds), but also the internal qualities are important. And many common folks don’t know much about birds, whether it is a crane, a peacock, a pheasant or whatever, I’ve only seen them on TV and don’t know much about them.
But the sparrow is different. First, they are like much of the Chinese commonfolk: they have a superb ability to survive and refuse to be eliminated; they have a strength of character — just like the original poster said earlier — an indefatigable spirit. Whereas many precious birds easily go extinct if they are not careful. Bottom line, a national bird doesn’t need to be pretty. What it needs to have is spirit, a kind that is similar to that of the people of this country.
allwin2008 wrote: Our country is a great and proud country, so we must choose a grandiose national bird, one with a deep moral story. Only the phoenix or the peacock or such high caliber birds can take the job. Sparrows are just little clowns. If they can be the national bird, it would be a great joke. So what do you think?
Hurriedly Wuhan wrote: If I had to choose, I would rather choose the sparrow. 1. Sparrows cannot be kept. Those caught in cages or leashed by a leg all end up refusing to eat or drink and die that way. I think that is a kind of strength of character. 2. Sparrows don’t have pretty feathers or sweet cries, but they quietly fight for daily livelihood. I think this is very much like the behavior of Chinese people. 3. Sparrows are the birds most intertwined with common Chinese folks. Who hasn’t come in contact with sparrows, from childhood to adulthood?
FOARP Says I would have thought the peacock more China’s style, given its imperial history, particularly with the award of peacock-feathers being a sign of favour from the emperor and with the way they feature prominently in paintings from ancient times. However, the reasons why you might not want to choose a bird synonymous with gaudy display are obvious. Being both numerous and assiduous, I can see why people might want to choose the sparrow. However, sparrows occur naturally across Eurasia and Africa, and early European settlers imported them into the Americas and Australasia, so you would have to find a particular subspecies native to China for it to be truly representative. Strangely enough I only just found out a couple of weeks ago from a closet bird watching friend of mine (I’d known him for years but had had no idea that he was a secret bird watcher) that the Robin is the UK’s national bird - personally I had always thought of the British Bulldog as a far better national symbol The Bald Eagle might be America’s symbol, the French fighting Cock may be representative of France, and the Kiwi bird may recognizably stand for New Zealand, but I can’t think of many other countries where there is a real connection in the mind between the country and its national bird. If the sparrow is chosen I doubt such a link will exist in the minds of the Chinese people, a more colorful bird must be chosen Otherwise, both the Panda and the mythical Chinese Dragon are good symbols of China.
A-gA-gu Says: I love birds, especially urban birds that more people get a chance to have contact with. They are incredibly adept at surviving in urban conditions. That does not make the bird better or worse, of course; it’s just a particular fact about their diet and ability to navigate around an invasive species (people).
My grandpa used to call House Sparrows “worthless birds,” because they multiply so much (at least 3 broods a season) and are so prevalent, stealing the nests of other birds and driving out the rarer Bluebirds from his area.
In short, I like the sparrow just fine, and think it would make a fine bird for any country (it is now the most widely distributed wild bird in the world). But at the same time, I understand people’s desire to use “majestic” birds as a national bird. Look at how the Formosan Magpie won out for Taiwan’s national bird vote, even though few people have ever seen one! I thought the White Wagtail would have been a much cooler choice, but it wasn’t even on the short list because it’s not endemic to Taiwan.
Allen Says: I propose China adapt the Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea) as PRC’s national bird! It is a more beautiful bird than the sparrow. It would make it that much more difficult for Taiwan to secede from China proper.
Those were comments from many I chose randomly. And how we thought national birds were the easiest thing to decide!!. Interesting the things that occupy people.

The painting of sparrows here is by Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927), one of the greatest American ornithologist and bird artist. In this context this blogger feels it is important to write few words on this amazing man. A significant part of Fuertes inspiration came from the work of John James Audubon whose Birds of America he pored over at the Ithaca Public Library. He became the first person to make a successful living exclusively as bird artist. Just as Audubon influenced every bird painter since the early 1800s by "drawing from life", Fuertes added to the tradition by presenting birds not only accurately, but also capturing their natural and behavioral characteristics. The extent of his influence is summed up by Roger Tory Peterson- influential bird artist of more recent times in US. "We can accurately say that there is a "Fuertes School" of bird painting even to this day, more than four decades after his death. Nearly all American bird artists have been influenced to some extent by the bird portraiture of Fuertes".
Much like Audubon in the early 1800s and Peterson in our own times, Fuertes had extensive knowledge of the natural history of birds. He participated in many foreign and domestic scientific expeditions, including trips to Jamaica, Colombia and other parts of South America, Ethiopia (then known as Abyssinia), Magdelene Islands, and Alaska. In addition to thousands of field sketches (representing 400 hundred species of birds) and illustrations that appeared in every major book on birds between 1896-1927, he contributed 3,500 specimen skins to science which are now at Cornell University (all info about Fuertes copied from the Net, emphasis added by the blogger).

The blog on Sparrows will not be complete without mention of autobiography of Salim Ali which is titled The fall of a Sparrow, this he wrote when he was 87years old!!. When he was a kid he shot down ‘unusually colored’ sparrows (yellow throated sparrows). Curious he asked his elders (incidentally he was an orphan), encouraged by his uncle he went to Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), where he saw stuffed birds and was hooked for life. As Hamlet say’s (in Shakespeare’s Hamlet) "There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow". In case of Salim Ali I would say divine providence, otherwise the world would have lost an amazing ornithologist. The term “Fall of Sparrow” also has an important understanding in Christianity. In the New Testament, Jesus reassures his followers that not even a sparrow can fall without God's notice, and that their own more significant suffering is certainly seen and potentially forestalled or redeemed by God (Luke 12:6; Matthew 10:29). Recently I also came across another book of the same title by Robert Hellenga, it’s about a father trying to come in terms with life after his daughter is killed by random bombing at railway station in Italy. The reviewer of the book quoted this line from one of the chapters that I thought was quite interesting "Death, in fact, is a condition of meaning. Without it human beings, like the Greek gods, would make no significant choices, confront no limitations."
The pics of sparrow were taken at Belur temple courtyard (Karnataka) and Khejdali (Bishnoi village, Rajasthan). The stamp on Sparrow is from Syria. The painting of sparrow is by Chen Jiayan from ancient China- Ming Dynasty (1368-1644AD)

Meet the nasty little Myna…

Did you know that Indian Myna (common myna) is included in the list of “One Hundred of the World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species”?. Invasive species have been recognized globally as a major threat to biodiversity (the collected wealth of the world’s species of plants, animals and other organisms) as well as to agriculture and other human interests. The website explains… “..some species may have invaded only a restricted region, but have a high probability of expanding and causing further great damage (e.g. Boiga irregularis: the brown tree snake). Other species may already be globally widespread, and causing cumulative but less visible damage. Many biological families or genera contain large numbers of invasive species, often with similar impacts..”. The Indian myna (scientific name Acridotheres tristis) according to the website “..is native to India and the Middle East. Acridotheres can be translated as “grasshopper hunter” which reflects the bird’s insectivorous diet; a trait that lead to its introduction into many Pacific islands to control insect pest populations of commercially important crops. The unfortunate and unseen result was that the birds preferred to feed on the agricultural crops themselves. In Australia it has been noted to compete with native birds and small mammals for nesting sites and consume their eggs and chicks”. To make the matter worst Myna is only one of the three birds mentioned in the list. That’s your nasty myna!!. All the pics is that of Bank myna (taken at Ajmer market)..

The Common Myna is classified as a pest in South Africa, North America, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and many Pacific islands. The problem is particularly serious in Australia where Common myna was introduced in 1860s. This extremely aggressive bird has displaced and endangered many native species. In Australia Mynas have reduced biodiversity by fighting for hollows with native birds like Rosellas, destroying their eggs and chicks and stopping them from breeding. Indian Mynas are capable of evicting even large birds such as Kookaburras and Dollar Birds from their nests. These fearless birds also known to evict small mammals, like Sugar Gliders from hollows – which commonly means a death sentence for the Gliders because they have nowhere else to go. It is not uncommon for groups of mynas to mob other birds and mammals like possums. In New Zealand too they are considered pest, and people make every effort to finish it, but wily mynas are growing in strength.

A poem by an Australian Francis Duggan I found in the Net titled Mynas of Glen iris is quite revealing, I quote few lines from it here…

Their ancestors brought to here from places far away
From their old homes in India of Delhi and Bombay
They call them an introduced species but it would be fair to say
That the Melbourne born myna is an Aussie of today.

Pugnacious and aggressive birds for their size
Their rough grating songs not hard to recognize
For each species is known by their colours or song
In Nature's wild garden such things one don't get wrong

Ironically in India, where the Common Indian Myna originated doesn’t really have such a nasty reputation, it is called the “Farmer’s Friend” because it eats insects that destroy crop plants. Mynas in India are also regarded as symbols of undying love, because they often pair for life and maina is also sometimes used as a term of endearment for young girls. I am sure many would have come across the line “thu meri maina” in Hindi films. Also Common Indian Mynas and some other species of myna, particularly Indian Hill Mynas, are accomplished mimics and can learn to talk. For this reason mynas have been taken to many parts of the world as cage birds. The painting posted in this blog of myna is from ancient Song dynasty (960-1279AD) of Chinese civilization art form of brush painting (referred to as xieyl style). Bird Paintings made its first appearance in Chinese paintings in the mid T'ang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), they particularly had a fascination for Mynas. Infact I came across this website that sold CDs on how to paint Mynas in Chinese style. Here is what the blurb says… “ Instructed by famous Professor and Chinese Painting Master: Sho Zhu, this video CD (VCD) is to teach how to paint myna in free hand brushwork (xieyi) style of Chinese painting. The contents in this VCD include:· characteristics of myna,· steps to paint myna, skills to paint myna, demonstration, how to understand and enjoy chinese painting”

I am fascinated !!.

Bank Mynas are more gregarious than the Common Myna and are found in large numbers. Whereas Common Mynas will nest in almost any sort of hole in a building, tree or nest box, Bank Mynas nest colonially in earth and river sand banks (the reason why they are referred to as Ganga myna in Hindi). Apart from being bluish grey their bare ear patch and bill are much deeper orange than those of the Common Myna. Bank Mynas also have softer voice compared to its larger cousin. Distinctive feature of mynas is that unlike most birds they walk than hop, and often move around in rowdy aggressive gangs, bullying other birds over food. By the way the word “myna” derives from the Sanskrit word “madana,” meaning joyful or delightful. Quite a joyful bully that one!!

Birds in starling family (Sturnidae) in India are referred to as mynas. Myna is not a biological classification within the starling family, but rather a geographical one. Myna (“maina”) is the Hindi word for starling, and this name has tended to be applied to starling species native to southern and southeastern Asia and the southwest Pacific. There are different types of mynas that can be seen in India apart from common myna and bank myna, these are Brahminy, Hill, Java, Crested (these have become quite common recently in Bangalore). The most beautiful myna is Bali myna that is mostly found in Indonesia region, it is marble white in color and is endangered specie. In Ahmedabad railway station few weeks back I happen to spot what I think is magpie starling (there were lots of them), if I got this one right this is my first spotting of this busy little bird. Many countries have come out with stamps on mynas and starlings, the one here is by the Chinese government showing Bali myna.

Despite its bad reputation around the world it’s a pleasure to watch these daring birds in busy markets and streets, and boy they have adapted so well. Indian States Chattisgarh and Meghalaya has hill mynas as State birds.