I have heard its call resonate from among the trees that grow behind my building many a times. The call was unmistakable, rhythmic and continuous – hearing it distantly gives the listener the impression of some miniature steam engine emitting steam at regular intervals – and if you are living near some industrial unit or a factory, you will not even give a second thought as to the origin of the sound.
But if you are curious (I will even go to the length to advise you to cultivate an inquisitive attitude) then you will have your share of rewards. And I will also caution you not to trust your instincts so firmly - at least not in this case - as it will only result in limiting your perspective and views about birds. It pays also, in the most startling ways, not to trust your instincts, specially, if you have trees as your neighbours. For you may not be fully aware as to what amazing birds live in the trees. And if you thought that sparrows, crows and pigeons that you come across every day, are the only birds in the vicinity, then you are totally mistaken.
I also harboured such assumptions towards the sound that I kept hearing everyday from my seat beside the window, but my interest in all things birds, saved me from making too many assumptions. It just took some patience on my part, some determination, and plenty of luck to finally hunt down the maker of that call – a Coppersmith Barbet.
The bird is named so, due to its crimson colored forehead and throat of the same color. You can see it among the branches of a tree, and usually you will require a binocular to view it among all the green and brown colors that are peculiar of trees.
The one I saw today was sitting on a branch, close to the spot from where the branch sprouted from the main trunk, and which, was shrouded and not easy to spot. I had my binoculars of course – it belonged to my father years back – and these binoculars are the best tool I have to trace birds. I have another tool that is with me all the time – my ears – and when I am working on my laptop, I happen to listen to bird calls from that tree, and am proud enough to announce to you that I have trained them to distinguish bird calls from other sounds, and that I can instantly recognize the bird from its call.
Together with these two tools I could see the Coppersmith Barbet in all its splendid details. Its head lurched forward with every call it made. I could not see its tail, as it was hidden behind the leaves. But its body was within my view, and could make out that it was somewhat bigger than a sparrow, and smaller than a crow. It was a single bird, and as I did not hear another call, assumed that every call that I had heard before, came from that particular bird, which I was seeing through my binoculars. So prominent were the crimson colors, that it arrested all my attention, and made me forget to pay attention to the remaining colors on its body.
I kept seeing it with my binoculars for some moments, until having satiated my urge to see it in its entirety, resumed to work again. During such times, I miss my DSLR the most, and could only lament that had it not been broken, I would have another bird image to boast of, and my collection of birds would have one more bird, that of the Coppersmith Barbet.
Copyright © 2021 Abhijit Pandit
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