I know what the guys are thinking! My 70 year young cousin
loves this ad on TV these days, in which a boy takes his old neighbour ‘bird-watching’
to all the places where groups of girls can be seen. I must admit that there
are distinct similarities in the two kinds of ‘bird-watchers’. I can of course only talk for the kind I am but you can easily draw parallels for the other variety too. For one if you
are standing in a group and talking and suddenly see some colour or movement nearby,
you stop mid-sentence to check the variety of 'bird'. It may only be a 'sparrow',
but those are getting rare too.
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| House Sparrow |
Secondly, you are under pressure to know every 'bird haunt' in
and around your town. You name a place and I will know which bird you are
likely to find there. Say, to see a
serpent eagle or a red minivet you should go to the Sinhagad forest, but to see
the crested bunting you have to climb up to the Sinhgad Fort.
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| Serpent Eagle |
 |
| Crested Bunting |
Thirdly, no matter how many times you have seen it, you would
love to get another glimpse of that 'bird'. This Golden Oriole visits the tree
outside my house every year but every year I am watching and waiting for it to
come.
 |
| The Golden Oriole |
Fourthly, no matter
where you go 'birds' are always on your mind. I am forever on the lookout for
birds and
find them in the oddest places. Here is a
Shikra peeping through a gate like a dog.
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| Shikra |
Fifthly, people who don’t share your passion seem a little
colourless and boring. Now I can’t possibly post a picture under this point, there will be hell
to pay - but you know the type.
Sixthly, you go to great lengths to identify any new 'bird' you
see – promptly referring the ‘experts’. Here's one bird you do not see ordinarily.
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| Chukar or 'Chakor' |
Lastly it is your abiding
dream to see the 'Birds of Paradise' some time in your life (here personal
favourites matter depending on whether you are the Hollywood or the Bollywood
types). So far I have only managed to see a Paradise Flycatcher.
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| Asian Paradise Flycatcher |
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