Four years ago, I had a huge obsession with the pixie tailor bird, Darzee of the ‘Jungle Book’ fame. I chased it high and low with my camera in the trees, bushes and potted plants around my home. The chase paid off handsomely and I got scores of great shots. Not just that. There are many more pairs of tailor birds around me now than there were then.
Almost a year into it, I was gifted with a once-in-lifetime sight for a birdwatcher in and around Delhi–in the form of the Asian Paradise Fly Catcher. At first, I heard a new, distinct and not a great sound. I looked and looked at the thick foliage of a 35-feet-tall Kadamb tree. What I saw eventually was a debut and spectacular sight, a very long and silky white ribbon of a tail from a white body, the face and head resembling a bulbul’s. With my short range lens, it was impossible to capture the rare sighting.
The next one hour was a struggle, tracking the bird from tree to tree and branch to branch. My neck and arms began to ache. The bird seemed in no hurry. After all, it was halting east of Delhi on its way to south India as part of the winter time migration (from the foothills of the Himalayas). Finally, it came down to the range of my camera, sat on the edge of branches where the light was good and gave me a couple of okay shots.
It is as though the bird had sensed the intensity of my effort. I took a break of barely five minutes, but when I went back, it was gone. This was on October 1, 2019. Three months after that, I got a bigger lens, taking my bird photography to the next level. For three years, I have thought off and on about the dazzling bird, but no luck. Believe it, one needs luck to spot it.
My research tells me that the last sighting of the PFC in and around Delhi was 38 years previous to mine. Such is its beauty that even those who get to see it often in its natural habitat or in the south of India can’t stop gushing about it. I am still struck by it despite the brief view I had, and am sharing one of the few modest shots I got.
As for its personality and behaviour, there is an information overload on the internet. I can only add one original observation. Birds and animals sense exactly what we feel about them.
If I intensify my thoughts about it, even PFC will appear again–just for me. I have done such experiments with other birds, especially the endangered house sparrow, and the experiments were highly rewarding. Bird-watching is great, but greater is the thrill of a silent communication with the avians.
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