Little birds tell you a lot

AHMEDABAD: Like we have surnames that define our region, place or trade in Gujarat, some of our feathered friends in the state have similarly acquired names that define the city where they belong to. There are a least five birds that are either commonly sighted, some rare, and are brand ambassadors of Gujarat cities and towns they belong to. They include birds that boast of peculiar piping song to birds that are known for their laughter and still others who can hunt like the Kathiawar kings! From Cambay, Surat, Kathiawar, Ahmedabad, these birds carry a tinge of their respective regional attitude.

A small cage-which was a common household pet and sold in city markets till 70 years ago the 'Amadavat' or the Red Avadavat or Red Waxbills, whose Latin name 'Estrilda amandava', is derived from Ahmedabad. They are small cage-birds and have red beaks, spotted with red and white no bigger than measles. These birds are natives of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan and were introduced by traders across to 12 countries, which includes US, Spain and China.

Ornithologists W Frayer noted in one of his research papers in 1935, "They did not seem to be unhappy, like most of the cage birds there, for their wants are small. Give them dry seed and clean water and they will look on the bright side of things. It is their happy disposition that owe their popularity as pets, for they have no accomplishments and are as silly and uninteresting as birds can be." Very much an Amdavadi.

Frayer notes that Amadavat had a little piping song, so sweet, though feeble, but one must put their hand to their ears to catch the sound. And the rest of the birds would sing to a note of one syllable, which they repeat about 35 times in a minute when they are in good spirits.

Then there is the Indian spotted dove, called the 'Streptopelia. S. suratensis', from Surat, which was first identified as a 'Surti' in 1873. This dove is long tailed buff brown with a white-spotted black collar patch on the back and sides of the neck. They are a confiding bird, running about freely in gardens and villages searching for fallen grain and seeds, generally hunting in couples and constantly calling to one another in the softest and sweetest of coos.

The laughing dove from Cambay or Khambat, too, owes its name to the small Gujarat town. Technically called the Streptopelia. S. cambayensis, this dove is a reddish-brown and has blue markings on its wings, a white edge on its long tail, purplish legs, and a black bill. Its call has a musical, bubbly quality, -- like laughter--different from the cooing sound of most doves. Then from Khambat there is Indian Black Robin or Saxicoloides. F. cambaiensis. The males have an all-black back. They are commonly found in open scrub areas and often seen running along the ground or perching on low thorny shrubs and rocks.

Then from Kathiawad is the long-tailed Shrike or Lanius. S. kaithiwarensis. This song has a distinct style of hunting, much like the unique hunting tradition of the Kathiawar kings. This glides down at an angle to take lizards, large insects, small birds and rodents. This bird's usual calls are harsh grating and scolding. They are capable of vocal mimicry and can imitate calls of lapwings, cuckoos, puppies and squirrels in their song.