Following the Flowing Water | A Lovely Encounter with the Whistling Schoolboy
#intothewildwithrufus
Today we spotted The Malabar Whistling Thrush - one of the most celebrated and enigmatic birds that’s native to the Western Ghats!
Quite early into the morning today, we were into the dense forests, quietly following the flowing water! And with a purpose at that!
Well, bird watchers would be fully aware of this little rule that, thrushes can be spotted easily near the sound of flowing water! 😊
Again, there’s yet another rider! Although at first glance, the bird appears completely black in colour, Salim Ali observes in his famous Book of Indian Birds, that, the bird sports a blue-black colour, with patches of glistening cobalt blue on forehead and shoulders, which helps the bird to be easily camouflaged especially early into the morning.
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| Salim Ali's Book of Indian Birds |
Only when the sunlight catches its feathers, it reveals the shimmering patches of cobalt blue on its forehead, shoulders, and wings.
Now, for some fascinating facts on the Malabar Whistling Thrush –
The song of the Malabar Whistling Thrush sounds exactly like a schoolboy’s whistling tune. Hence the nickname, ‘Whistling School Boy!’
And yes! they’ve also got an added nickname!
Yes! they are also called Snail-Smashers because of their fondness for snails. They carry snails to a favourite, strategically placed rock and violently smash the shell against it to extract the meat.
Today, then, was our lucky day! We had our Camera’s ISO quite high to maintain a quick shutter speed, and also ensured that we maintained our distance with our long-reach 600mm telephoto lens, at hand!
That’s how we were able to freeze the lovely Malabar Whistling Thrush onto our photo-frame in a longgg time!
And how! 😊
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