#47. Suburban Living and the Birds

After my retirement from a government job, I moved into this house in the outer extremity of the municipal corporation of Gwalior in 2007 summer, and in spite of curses from the better half everyday for choosing this place and area as my

final abode, I have never regretted a day living here. Only this afternoon there was the rustle of leaves  disturbed by the winter wind,and the constant chirping of the birds roosting in the bamboo thicket. There was pin-drop silence and the sun was in full glory giving much-needed warmth all around, and I thought I would mention it here. I have a borewell, and though the water is barely sufficient for my multifarious needs, I surrounded myself in greenery in no time. Greenery means insects and insects attract birds. Young trees and a full grown Tecoma tree which for some unexplained reason

died, and turned into a snag, the bamboo thicket and the acacia nilotica tree in the  next plot just across my boundary wall have turned into a readymade roost for the sparrows and bulbuls. Here is the checklist of all the birds  I have seen here

during these years:

1. House crows (very rarely)
2. Grey hornbill
3. Blue green pigeon
4. Green pigeon
5. Common dove
6. ring dove
7. Spotted dove
8. Common  mynah
9. Brahminy mynah
10. Pied mynah
11. Red-vented bulbul
12. White-cheeked bulbul (only once recently)
13. Coucal
14. Babbler
15. Tree pie
16. Drongo
17. Grey hornbill
18. Blue Rock Pigeon
19. Green Pigeon
20. Blue-tailed  bee eater
21. Blue-cheeked bee-eater
22. White breasted Kingfisher
23. Red wattled Lapwing
24. Black-winged stilt
25. Small egret
26. Lesser whistling teal (one pair during the rains
27. when there is a pond near my plot)
28. .Shikra
29. Indian robin
30. Magpie robin
31. Babbler
32. Koel