Its a new passion. Bird spotting.

A drongo sings on this tree. Somewhere very far off, the same song is replied by another drongo. This duet has been going on since ten minutes. This could be a conversation having as much meaning as any human talk. But to my limited perception it seems a mere imitation of calls by the two birds. I try to find some pattern in their calls, but its so prolonged that I lose interest after the first five minutes. Recently in 'The Economist', there was an article about birds' magnetic senses. They have a special knowledge of the global positioning of other birds and places through these magnetic senses. This proves that birds have abilities which scientists haven't yet researched. That explains the migration of rare birds to the coastal cities before Tsunami hit Andhra Pradesh in India in 2004. Had people understood the meaning of their migration, Tsunami could've been predicted. Can you can spot the drongo in the picture...

Evenings are consistent with kites flying over the houses. They fly lower than usual to prey on small animals such as birds, bats and rodents. This afternoon, perched on the lamp post, appearing huge and majestic, all other birds look tiny and insignificant in its presence. The Black Kite is a raptor. A p redatory bird also known as   raptors , are birds that hunt and feed on rodents and other small animals. 

It's a very beautiful autumn afternoon. I was dozing in my room. Just as I woke up, a bird flew past my window. It was an unfamiliar black and orange bird. On seeing this queer sight, I rushed to see it, hoping that it hadn't flown away. There it sat right below my window! It was a big beautiful black bird with coppery brown wings.  It was the same bird that I had seen few days back. A crow pheasant! Just a better camera angle this time. On closer look.

It must be late afternoon when my mom told me to come out to see this bird. It was sunny and mostly mynas and crows chirped. On the barbed fence of the lawns below, there sat three crows in a line. This bird was perched there. It was light brownish having blue wings and tail, and a slight crooked beak. Its called an Indian Roller, also commonly known as the Blue Jay.

Although I'm a city dweller but I'm lucky enough to have my house is surrounded by wilderness. There is a lake near by. And the world's largest mangrove forest- 'Sundarbans' is a few kilometers away from here. I often sit in my room, gazing outside my window, and seldom the same bare branch catches my attention. A bird, a rare bird mostly, is perched there. This time I spotted a Black Drongo. Long fork tail. All black.  Its called the 'king of crows'. Despite being small in size, it is aggressive and threatens big birds to stay away from its territory. All small birds are, however, allowed to nest around its territory. So, in a way it protects all the small birds from the big birds. Again I ran to fetch my SLR to click few snaps.

Its raining. It has been raining since morning and it's afternoon now. Everything looks washed as usual. The scanty tree has many crows perched on its bare branches. Perhaps waiting for the rain to halt for once. And between the crowd I spot a crow pheasant . Its copper brown wings and a long tail . Opening and closing its wings. Belonging to the species of cuckoos, the crow pheasant is bigger in size than other crows. I once again grabbed my SLR to click a snap or two.

I sit. I gaze about. Eyes freeze. Gentle motion of trees. Winds. Birds sing. Sun. Shadows. Green and Bright. And suddenly, I see a bird. Blue wings. Red head. Long beak. Unique. Perched on a bare branch, singular and composed. I quickly grab my SLR to click snaps. Later I came to know that it was a kingfisher from the mangroves, commonly called the 'White-throated Kingfisher'.