Birds,  Fauna,  Nature

Oriental Magpie-Robins: A black and white romance!

Romance is in the air! And the colour of romance is not red- it is black and white! First it was the Asian koels with their jugalbandi which stole the show. But these days in Sevagram, the birds which make you stop with their song and dance are the Oriental magpie-robins.

This is the breeding season and he sings with all his heart. I love the way the male puffs up his feathers and struts during courtship. He fans his tail– until it looks like an elaborate trail of a gown… and then swoops so gracefully to impress his partner. She is of a paler shade than he is, and a little more shy and gentle. But she too has a quaint hoppity-hop dance.

The Oriental magpie-robin is the national bird of Bangladesh. Called doyel in Bangla.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: