Originally posted at my WordPress a/c on June 2, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Bird first seen around 1st May, 2009.
Article written on 2nd June, 2009,
and edited on 3rd June, 2009.
Every single bird out there has its own unique characteristics as well as construction & design in a way or another. These distinctive features not only give them an overall attractive appearance but they also prove to be immensely advantageous in their survival, growth and reproduction, either explicitly or implicitly. And, the eminent construction of a bird is quite enough to attract our attention and create a strong desire to discover and learn more about it. That’s the reason why the details of a new bird, that has made its appearance recently, is still purely fresh in my mind. They’ve been around our apartment, performing their energetic and relentless sky dance for quite a while now and my determination to figure out their identity is strengthening every time I see their dynamic flight up in the sky, dauntless and nonstop. Now, I’m really forced to wonder where they derive all there energy from, but maybe I’m mistaking by considering that their flight is eating too much of their energy. Perhaps the secret is hidden behind their meticulously designed structure, the most disguising feature. However, noticing them is a very challenging task for me since they hardly ever rest for a while so that I can observe them in details. Not to mention that they display their flying capabilities 8 to 10 meters away from my balcony and their compact size makes it even more difficult, that’s slightly smaller than a Mynah (Yes, I’m one of those amateur birdwatcher who still haven’t even bought a binocular to carry out such a dear hobby). Even though being so much helpless in figuring out too much about, I can still at least give you an outline of their overall appearance that I’ve noted down so far.
When I saw a group of black birds in flight for the first time, I thought them to be common Mynahs until I noticed that they were much blacker and slightly smaller and not to mention, Mynahs typically fly in pairs. Then their most distinctive feature caught my attention, the thing that distinguishes them from any other bird I’ve seen around so far; their wings design: (1) razor-sharped and pointed at both the edges which enables them to cut the air as they fly at a great speed, and (2) extremely lightweight which is apparent from their swift ability to flap them and change directions without any difficulty. They are also capable of relaxing their wings and freely float in the air for some time before they start flapping again. The next thing that I observed was the white mark in the upper portion of their tail and the glossy tint in their under-wings. Moreover, the sound that they produce is very different from usual, which is a whistling sound that they make while they are still at flight. I’m assuming that these birds live in group because there are always five to six birds to accompany each other and there could be more as only a part of their flight display is viewable from the place where watch them.
So, which bird could it possibly be? Taking in concern their characteristics, I arrived to a conclusion that they’re Larks because of their ability to sing at flight and flying capabilities. Then again, being so unsure, they could belong to a species of Swallow or Martin because of their overall structure. I checked through the list of Birds that are found in India, particularly keeping in mind the birds I assumed but sadly I still haven’t discovered their true identity. It seems to be more difficult since I’ve no photo record of them as of now that’d certainly help me to identify them ( as I’ve done with all other birds I’ve seen in my neighbourhood). Lord willing, I’m sure that someday I’d be able to learn more about them and that my effort is certainly not going to be wasted altogether. And for now, at least I can enjoy their blessed sky dances and keep myself satisfied with the fact that at least I’ve some new friends to stalk.
Edit: After six months of pondering and researching I finally found the bird: House Swift!