The fowls of the air

Ashish Kotharis sparkling new book examines the present status of just about everything to do with birds in India.

THE latest news from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) points out that all the warnings and pleading of conservationists have gone unheeded, and the world has lost nearly one-third of its bird species. India, rich in birdlife, has been particularly badly hit. In the IUCN Red List for 2008 for birds, India has the largest number of threatened species. A combination of factors has led to this pass habitat destruction, specially of wetlands, th e indiscriminate use of pesticides and climate change.

It is in this context that we have to see the arrival of this sparkling new book. Ashish Kothari started out as a birdwatcher and has over the years grown into a conservationist of international repute. For nearly three decades, he has raised his voice for birds. He is the spokesperson for flowing rivers and sprawling forests and birds that are sustained by these habitats. In the debate on the Forest Rights Bill, he has spoken in favour of community conservation. He points to the Kokrebellur mixed heronry near Mysore and the gathering of cranes at Keechan village in Rajasthan as instances of such a tradition in conservation.

Birdwatching is fast growing as a hobby all over the world. The formation of Internet groups has facilitated the quick exchange of information and closer coordination. An extension of the simple pleasure of looking at a bird, this activity helps revive the link between ourselves and other forms of life. This is a connection we all had but lost along the way. An interest in birds could lead one to learn more about wildlife and the dynamics of conservation and soon ones concerns widen into environmental issues. The amazing interconnections in nature begin to reveal themselves. Many conservationists, wildlife biologists and activists, including the author of this book, all began as birdwatchers. So it is important to pay attention to this aspect of wildlife heritage.

Recently, there have been quite a few books on the subject. Tara Gandhis anthology of Salim Alis writing is one; Abdul Jamil Urfis book Birds Beyond Watching is another. Kotharis book is basically about Indian birds. It begins with a description of the different habitats of birds, such as wetlands, grasslands and rainforests, and traces the history of bird studies in India. After placing birdwatching in its historical perspective, he launches on his examination of the present status of just about everything to do with birds the mystery of migration, the role of birds in the economy of the country and the new initiatives in bird conservation. His writing is elegant and appealing.

In tracing the background of bird studies in India, Kothari mentions Chandyogya Upanishad, which has a classification of birds according to their habitat and feeding habits. The story of the krauncha bird in Valmikis Ramayana is about pair-bonding among Sarus cranes. It was this touching account that inspired the poet to write the epic. In Tamil, there are four 4th to 5th century A.D. works, Nigandu (lexicon), that have references to birds. The following is a poem of the Sangam period by a penurious poet in Madurai who sees a pair of white storks flying northwards and tries to send a message to his wife through them.

O stork, O stork, O red-legged storkWith coral-red beak, sharp tapered

Like the split tuber of the sprouting palmyra,

Should you and your spouse turn northwardFrom sojourning at the southernWaters of Kanyakumari,Halt at the tank of my village SathimuthamAnd there to seek out my wife,In our wet-walled drip-thatched abode,Listening to the geckos whinnying voiceFor augury of my returnand tell her that you saw this wretchin Madurai, city of our Pandya king,

Grown thin with no cloths against the north-winds bite

Hugging his torso with his arms,Clasping his body with his upraised legs,

Barely existing, like the snake within its basket.

(3rd to 4th century A. D. Translated by M. Krishnan)

There is so much of bird lore in India to be documented. The fast disappearing indigenous tradition of nomenclature of birds in vernacular languages is a precious heritage that needs to be redeemed.

Kothari writes about the vultures of Thirukazhukundram and says that the birds used to come there daily. It has been nearly a quarter of a century since the birds stopped showing up. After a sustained study at the site, Gift Siromoney of Madras Christian College, a keen birder, wrote a paper in which he explained the mystery. This paper forms part of the Indological Essays edited by M. Lockwood. Siromoney points out that the vultures were nesting in the temple tower, or vimana. Probably, the last pair fell victim to pesticides and could not reproduce.

In the past 10 years, there have been quite a few initiatives in India to protect birds. The Indian Bird Conservation Network was formed to survey and identify important bird areas. Birders spread out across the country in this work and identified 466 sites. The Birdwatchers Society of Andhra Pradesh and the Madras Naturalists Society have been promoting the cause of birds. Bird race events in Bangalore and Chennai have proved quite popular. The author laments that while the interest in bird study is increasing and more and more institutions and individuals are getting involved in this concern, there are fewer and fewer birds.

One of the strong points of the book is its photographs. Kothari seems to have tapped all the sources available. The work of Clement Francis, a comparatively new entrant to the field, stands out. His photograph of a pair of black-necked cranes with two fledglings is particularly evocative of their habitat and precarious plight. He is setting new standards in bird photography in India.

There are also rare photographs, such as ones of the newly discovered Bugun liocichla from Arunachal Pradesh, the Narcondam hornbill and the forest owlet. A photograph of a Jerdons courser trying to camouflage itself among the bushes is a remarkable work by Bharath Bushan. There is clear evidence that the arrival of digital cameras has lifted nature photography to new heights. The problems of shortage of film and of poor light have gone.

Madhuvanthis ink drawings add a new dimension to Birds in Our Lives.There are also some pictures from the archives. The Moghul miniature reproduced here and credited to the great painter al-Mansur features the only pictorial representation of the dodo. Portuguese merchants probably gifted some birds to the emperor and one was in his garden. The reconstruction of the dodo, which you can see in the American Museum of Natural History in New York and in the museum at Port Louis in Mauritius are based on this painting, now in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The list of Ramsar sites and of the important bird areas of India are thoughtful additions and will be of use to birders. The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, commonly known as the Ramsar Convention, to protect the major wetlands of the world was signed in the Iranian town of Ramsar in 1971. The two non-governmental organisations that were behind this initiative were the IUCN and International Waterfowl and Wetland Research Bureau.

The Coburg Peninsula in Australia was the first Ramsar site. Now 150 countries have signed this treaty. India has 25 Ramsar sites, which include Harike lake in Punjab, Chilika lake in Orissa and Point Calimere in Tamil Nadu. A note on each of these sites provided in the book gives their basic details. There is an exhaustive bibliography and a list of journals and magazines that will be useful to birdwatchers and researchers. A list of the threatened bird species of India has also been provided. This list has since grown longer as pointed out at the beginning of this article. An index would have increased the utility of the book manyfold.