Purple Swamphen

The Purple Swamphen also known as the Purple coot or Purple Moorhen is a large bird of the family, Rallidae. South Asian species of this bird have a green back and are overall blue in color. The bird is about chicken sized, with bright plumage and red bill, making it unmistakable to recognize. The birds have elaborate courtship behaviour, with the male holding water reeds in its bill and bowing to the females with quite loud chuckles. The nests are interwoven reeds on floating debris above water levels. An interesting fact to note - multiple females use the nest for laying eggs and they share the incubation duties ( communal nesting).

Purple Swamphens normally live in pairs and larger communities. They eat tender roots and vegetable matter. They also feed on small vertebrae like snails and can also prey on other eggs and small ducklings. The birds are extremely good swimmers, specially since they are birds without webbed feet. The birds are clumsy in flight but this does not inhibit them from flying long distances.

I sighted the Purple Swamphen at a two different suburbs of Coimbatore. A friend of mine had accompanied me in trying to gauge the number of ponds/lakes around coimbatore and the amount of diversity they supported. We almost missed these birds if not for the attractive plumage the birds had. What caught our eye was the brilliant purple green feathers and the brilliant red beak. Many of such of these ponds have been destroyed by man's greediness and selfishness. These ponds and water bodies perform a very important task. During rainy season they become the natural store house for all the excess water and rejuvenate the ground water table.

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Large Cuckoo Shrike - A rescue

This was the first bird rescue I did by myself other than my mammal rescues. This happened at Bandipur about a couple of months back. After a good sighting of elephants and sambar in the safari trails, I was journeying onwards towards a core area, where I work, when I saw this beautiful bird pitifully lying right in the middle of the road. Time was around 5.30pm. There were enough traffic on the roads and it was a wonder that the bird avoided being run over, by lorries and cars zipping by. A couple of bikers were also travelling on the road, more interested in sighting the elusive cats or the pachyderms. My initial thought upon seeing the bird was that it was dead, being hit while foraging by a speeding vechile. Hopping out of the jeep, my initial plan was to lay the bird's body near the fringes of the forest, thus allowing nature to take its own course.

To my shock , when I neared the bird, it fluttered and tried to stand on its feet. To my horror there were at least a couple of tourist groups in their SUV's coming on the road at more than the permissible speed. Parking my jeep in front of the bird, giving it some cover I diverted the other vechiles away from the vicinity of the bird. Then slowly crouching down I gently picked the bird up to be rewarded with three sharp pecks on my wrist. Then I placed the bird gently on the grass by the edges of the road. The bird wings were ok, since it beat its wings as soon as I released it. Since I was not sure, I called up another bird rescuer whom I respect a lot (thanks Sunetro) and took his advice. Acting upon it , I tried giving it water by placing water near it. But luckily the bird was only suffering from shock. In a few moments it was able to stand on its two feet and was able to flutter away. The bird to my greatest delight was able to lift itself and fly off in about 15 minutes.

The reason for writing this, is the way we behave when encountering such events. At least about half a dozen cars and a couple of bikes had passed in front of me and NONE took any initiative. I do understand that it is not logical to expect everybody to rescue , but I believe it is only fair that we could expect one among the lot to stop and give protection to the bird or to return and inform the authorities. The event had happened just about 3-4 kms away from the reception area. It is disgusting to note that these are the people who would talk about environment, wildlife, global warming etc.

Common Spoonbills

This is a wading bird of the Ibis and Spoonbill family. The bird is quite easy to identify in all the areas where it is found. The breeding bird is completely in white with black legs and dark bill with a yellow tip. Also has a yellow breast patch. It has a crest during the breeding season. Non breeders lack the crest and breast patch. Immature birds have a pale bill and black tips to the primary feathers. The spoonbill feeds on frogs, fish and other water creatures. The spoonbill occurs on marshy wetlands and in open shallow water. It nest in colonies in trees or on reeds.

I saw the above birds at Ranthambore national park, aloof from a crowd of other birds. These birds had moved to the edge of the pond not visited by other birds and were intent on getting their prey. Though we were really far from the pond, the intent stare of the spoonbills and their reflection on the water were too captivating for me to let go.

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