The city of Kolkata is expanding fast, the number of buildings on a rise, streets getting wider, and in tandem with this rise is the steady felling of trees. The birds that flocked to this city once are gradually losing their domiciles, rendering this city even more mechanical, that rings ominously with the cackle of crows as soon as one wakes up from sleep. Even the ever-familiar sparrows seem to have thinned out.
However, they still throng my old home in plentitude, their impending loss isn’t that evident there. If you observe closely, the tiny sparrow is a beautiful bird, how entirely amusing is their behavior. One can still spot a colony of pigeons in a few homes of this city, suffusing the mind with pleasantness with their playful flight. Preying hawks roam the skies here with their customary keen pride. Perhaps you can chance upon their young if you search well enough. And even in this city of dwindling trees, a few birds visit the taller ones that haven’t been felled yet.
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You will find groups of magpies, purple sunbirds, many species of nightingales, the chaotic warblers, and if you are lucky, the city will welcome blue-throated barbets and the red-crested woodpeckers. It is true that I have been fortunate enough to look at all these birds from my own terrace. I don’t have a pond near my home, yet a kingfisher pays a visit at times, I don’t know from where and calls loudly.
I even saw a lizard on its beak one day! I saw an unknown bird from my window once, apparently from some faraway land, and to what I owed this kindness, I’ll never know. And if you have time enough, a visit to Rabindra Sarobar will reveal glimpses of cormorants, herons, and long-beaked storks. Shouldn’t we learn to recognize these birds that cohabit this beloved city of ours all through the year?
