1 week Ago By Anupamaa Dayal
The hoopoe skips up to the book that’s fallen from my sleepy fingers. My half open eyes greedily devour its crisp jewelled crest, idly wondering if enough poetry has been written on this soft-spoken beauty. It gifts me one of its husky melodious hoots as I take in the strength of that curved beak so good for its instant insect diet.
It flies away soon like a big flapping monochrome-striped butterfly casting copper and pink sunbeams. I remember a folklore of a singing hoopoe before wine pressing as a great omen for the vintage to come. Our home cities Delhi and Haryana are such unlikely hotspots for birding Meccas.
But next to Nairobi, Delhi is the biggest host city of birdlife in the world — keeping in mind that Nairobi is way larger and has less of the crazy density of population that we have. We happen to be in the right place, bang on the migratory route and these darling creatures are creatures of habit and memory. Such luck for us! So here we are as we step into winter as the darkness of pollution descends and the concrete around us threatens to swallow us up in its uncouth soullessness.
Look for these little angels that are our guests from all over the world. They bring colour, beauty, and hope on their wings. Look at any wetland close to you and make special trips to our still gorgeous diversity parks.
Receive with grace the gifts of these travellers from afar. May we learn from them how to travel light and keep our hearts soaring..
