Son of Bollywood's super Maa helps rescue an injured falcon

MUMBAI: The son of Bollywood's legendary `Maa', Nirupa Roy, has helped animal activists to rescue an injured falcon which had flown into his bungalow at Napean Sea Road on Saturday.

Talking to TOI, the late actress' son, Kiran Roy (48), said: ``By noon on Saturday, I noticed a large bird which looked like a kite sitting in the open courtyard of my house at Napean Sea road. I tried calling a few local activists to check out the bird. Eventually, by evening one of the animal NGOs did turn up here for help.''

Members of the Eco-Echo animal rights group were surprised to find out that it was an injured falcon instead of a kite.

"We later sent the snaps of this bird to the expert bird watcher and naturalist, Sunjoy Monga, who confirmed that this was a Perigrine Falcon. It is unable to fly because of an injury in one of its wings. We are further treating this bird of prey,'' said animal rescuer, Nitin Walmiki.

Remembering his mother, Nirupa Roy, Kiran said: ``My mom, who has acted in several hit films like `Deewar', `Mard', `Khoon Pasina' and `Coolie' as the mother of Amitabh Bachchan, was also an animal lover. In fact, in the film `Coolie' she used to tell us about the eagle which had played an important role in the film.''

"I am happy that I could, in a small way, help in rescuing a bird from my house,'' added Kiran, who runs his own business which is not connected to Bollywood.

The eagle in `Coolie' was known as `Allah Rakha' and had become quite popular at the time for helping the hero (Bachchan) in fighting the bad guys.

Sunjoy Monga commented: ``The perigrine falcon species is usually spotted in the forested regions in and around Mumbai. I hope the bird recovers so that it can be released back in the wild.''

The Peregrine Falcon is a raptor, or bird of prey. Adults have blue-gray wings, dark brown backs, a buff colored underside with brown spots, and white faces with a black tear stripe on their cheeks. They have a hooked beaks and strong talons. Their name comes from the Latin word peregrinus, which means "to wander." They are commonly referred to as the Duck Hawk. Peregrine falcons are the fastest-flying birds in the world – they are able to dive at 200 miles per hour.

Peregrine falcons eat other birds such as songbirds and ducks, as well as bats. They catch their prey in mid-air.