A bulbul perched in a tall tree in our garden gave different forms of bird calls. I remembered reading in a research article that the morning
calls, resting calls, mating calls and alarm calls of a Bulbul are different and distinct.
Another Bulbul perched in the courtyard of our cottage responded to the calls with changing movements in its neck, body and tail. The ten minutes or so till the calling bird flew away, it was interesting to watch how the bulbul received the call of the other Bulbul with varying body behaviour. That is what made me think that the listening Bulbul perceived the different amplitude, tone and message in the bird calls.
That initiated an inner conversation within me. During a short training exposure on listening habits in a counselling session, I remembered the emphasis given to appreciate the tone, voice modulation, speed of word utterances and facial gestures of the speaking person. I remember the counsellor urging us to listen to the spoken words and discern the unspoken feelings by becoming familiar with the voice tones to feel with the speaking person.
Watching the birds behave in response to the bird calls indicated that they treated the calls as language of communication. The chirp of a bird before it flies away, is a signal to its pair to move. The repeated chirps while feeding is announcement of having found food. A sonorous subdued call can be an indication of a threat perception.
The two Bulbuls brought a reminder about listening behaviour that needs attention and presence. It was while listening to our domestic worker who returned after a pilgrimage, I realised that his description had different tonal content. He felt what he was narrating. That gave me another message about speaking feelingly and heartily!
The bird visitors bring purposeful messages!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
No comments:
Post a Comment