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Q. What
is the largest Indian bird, and what the smallest
?
A. It
is not easy to say which particular one is the
largest, but amongst the upper ten are certainly
the Sarus Crane and the Himalayan Bearded Vulture
or Vulture or Lammergeyer . The former stand
the height of a man; the latter has a wing spread
of over 8feet. Amongst our smallest birds
are the flowerpeckers , e.g. Tick ell's
Flowerpeckers scarcely bigger than a normal thumb.
Q. What
is our most beautiful bird ?
A. Difficult
to pick out any single species for the highest
honor, and depends rather on individual tastes.
A large number of birds of many different
families, particularly those resident in areas of
humid evergreen forest, possess extraordinarily
brilliant plumage .and adornment possessed by the
cocks of most species . At the bottom of the
size of the House sparrow or less – whose
glistening resplendent plumage scintillating in
the bright sunshine as they flit from flower to
 flower,
or dart from one forest glade to another,
transforms them into living gems.
Q. What is our commonest bird, and what our
rarest ?
A.
The answer depends largely on what
part of the country you live in. But for
India as a whole perhaps the House Crow and the
House sparrow would be hard to beat for commonness
and abundance. They had followed
Man—everywhere –up in the hills and out in the
desert—wherever his ingenuity has created loveable
conditions for himself. Next in abundance
come birds like Mynas and Bulbuls which though not
wholly communal on Man are yet quick to profit by
his presence and activities.
Q. Do Birds have a language?
A. They certainly have, if by language is meant
that they can communicate with and understand one
another. It consists not of speech as we
know it, but of simple sounds and actions and
enables birds-especially the more sociable
ones---to maintain contact amongst themselves and
convey simple reactions such as those of pleasure,
threat, alarm, invitation, and others.
Several of these signals--vocal, behavioral, or a
combination of the two--are understood not only by
members of the same species but also by other
birds generally, e.g. the alarm notes and behavior
of many on the approach of a marauding hawk.
To this extent Man can also claim to understand
the language of birds; Solomon himself could
hardly have done more. But the structure of
the bird's brain suggests a comparatively low
level of intelligence and precludes the
possibility of their holding regular conversations
or expressing views and opinions as we humans are
usually so ready to do!
Q. What is our most accomplished songster and
talker?
A. Personally, for song I would give he palm
to the Grey winged Blackbird (Turdus boulboul)
of the Himalayas. A number of its close
relations, members of the Thrush family, including
the Malabar Whistling-Thrush and the White-rumped
Shama follow close on its heels. The best
talker amongst our Indian birds is certainly the
Common Hill-Myna whose articulation of the human
voice and speech is infinitely clearer and truer
than that of the parakeets. The latter enjoy
a wider reputation and are more generally kept as
cage birds because they can more readily procured.
Q. How long does a bird live?
A. The age-potential, or the age to which a bird
is capable of living, of course varies according
to species and the environment and conditions
under which its lives. Reliable data
concerning the life span of wild birds in a state
of nature are very difficult to obtain. It
is only possible by the method of marking
individual birds, particularly as nestlings.
Most of the figures of age available are from
birds in captivity and therefore living under
somewhat unnatural conditions. An ostrich in
captivity has lived for 40 years, a raven to 69
and another to 50. Passerine birds of about
Sparrow size have occasionally reached 25 years,
although normally their span is 5 to 8. A
vulture attained 52, a horned owl 68, swan 25,
pigeon 22 to 35, peacock 20. The longest
lived birds in a natural state, as determined by
the marking method, are: herring gull 36 years,
oriole 8, pintail duck at least 13, grey heron
about 16, blackbird 10, curlew 31-1/2, kite
25-3/4, and swallow 16+.
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