Doon Watch Nature Series for Dehradun Live Hindustan Times
by Sanjay Sondhi
Published on 8 Feb 2013
Breakfast with the Robin
Some mornings are just meant to be written about! Like today, for instance. After 4
days of rain and hail, and dull, cloudy skies, the morning brought forth bright blue
skies, a mood-lifting sun, and clean, fresh rain-washed air with just a hint of the smell
of damp earth. Delightedly, we resumed our routine of an al-fresco breakfast in our
garden. This morning, however, we had company!
A female Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicatus) decided to join us for breakfast. The
female of this ubiquitous garden bird is plain unmarked brown with reddish-brown
under the tail. The male is more brightly coloured being black underneath, brown on
the back, and a splash of white on its wings. Both the birds are easily identified by
their habit of frequently cocking their tails.
As we started our breakfast, the female robin hopped onto a patch of grass only a few
feet away from where we sat. Birds are normally very wary, so we were amazed at
the boldness of the robin. Over the next half hour, the robin would visit this grass
patch for a few minutes, fly away, only to return again, repeatedly. Anchal and could
not see the reason for its frequent visits. On one occasion, when the bird flew away, I
got down onto my haunches and examined the area. I found that termites-small ones,
no more than a few millimeters in size were emerging, and this was the cause of the
robin’s interest!
On every visit, the bird was no more than few feet from us, and ignored us entirely.
Did it know that we were friends? Well, as if the excitement of the robin was not
enough, soon, our pet cat, Tiger arrived on the scene. “What is a bird doing on my
turf?”-Tiger’s body language said it all. Believe it or not, this made no difference to
the robin! She still kept returning to feed, and ignored Tiger completely, sitting only a
few feet away from the amazed cat. Eventually, Tiger’s badly bruised ego could not
stand this any more. She uttered a low snarl at the robin, which promptly flew up to a
perch a few feet away, and “churred” back at Tiger! Tiger took one look at the robin
and walked away probably saying to herself “Isse panga nahi lena ka!”
Breakfast with the robin extended into a long session of photography. The bird was
unconcerned and posed willingly for pictures. The robin soon polished off all the
termites, and to my amusement, well after our breakfast (and the robin’s) was over, a
male Indian Robin arrived to check out what the excitement was all about. Too late,
mate, breakfast’s over!
Feedback on this column is welcome at [email protected]
Making a difference: Watching nature in your garden is a great stress buster. In
today’s world of busy, hectic lives, spend a few moments, every day, to watch,
observe and enjoy nature around you. If nothing else, it will help reduce your medical
bills-stress busters for free!
Photograph caption: The Female Indian Robin
© Sanjay Sondhi