A stressful Turn !

 

The above photographs taken at dawn, when the Bulbuls come to feed at the feeding station in our garden, give us a delightful sequence of the feeding routine. The Bulbuls trickle in from different parts of the garden, and in about fifteen minutes there would be about six to seven in the feeding bowl and an equal number waiting for their turn in the branches above or on the cable beside. 

It is a pleasant sight to start the day! I am not tired of taking photographs on most days, although the routine is similar. Only when the computer indicated that the disc full white down loading the photos, with a few thousands of pictures taken in the monsoon season, I realised that the  pleasure of watching the birds was driving me to take more photos.  

The pictures below give another side of the Bulbul's stressful behaviour. In about twenty minutes the seven bananas, I served in the bowl were consumed and just one was left, which certainly created a panic behaviour among the Bulbuls to have as much of bites as possible. 

I returned with more bananas, but for fear of the making the Bulbuls fly away due to my proximity while serving them in the bowl,  I kept waiting for an opportunity. 

It was then I noticed the sequence of behaviour below. One Bulbul moved out of the bowl, and returned to its earlier position, with screechy bird call, facing another Bulbul which was also waiting of its turn to feed.  

What followed on was amusing to watch, although not a pleasant experience for those Bulbuls. With two of them engaging in reciprocal bird calls, few of the other Bulbuls flew away, as they sounded and looked in a compact mood. 

The two of them positioned themselves close to each other and with loud calls and the body posture in an oppositional engagement. 

With more access to food now,  with only one other Bulbul left, I thought that the two estranged Bulbuls would settle down to co-feed from the bowl.

What proceeded was the physical confrontation between both of them, which was interrupted by my decision, to go to the bowl to serve more bananas. 

It was for the first time since having about twenty Bulbuls coming to feed each day, I noticed this form of reactive behaviour between Bulbuls. 

I got a first hand experience of how hunger can make birds angry and be physically confrontational. 

Since watching that reactive behaviour, Anna added two more bowls to the feeding station, so that the feed can be spread out for birds for them to get enough without waiting for their turns till others leave after  feeding.   

The effects of hunger are multiple. I have been used to considering hunger only as a physical and gastronomical experience. It is from the reactive behaviour of the birds above, I got a better sense about the emotional and behavioural dimensions associated with hunger. 

I recall an occasion, when a mother saw her two years old son, throw the pencil he was scribbling with, turned and asked her son, 'Do you want some cereal now'? His face turned bright and quickly moved towards his chair at the dining table. He ate from the bowl, while his mother read to him from the picture book, a story about the meal time of puppies. 

No wonder, late Prof. Maladhi Jadhav would usually offer a mid morning break and order tea and snacks on the days, when she came for the morning clinical rounds to the ward. 

The silent effects of hunger can make a person behave aggressively, impulsively, reactively or defiantly, more so with children. Some school serve a mid day snack to all children, as children might have left home in a hurry, without a full breakfast! A teacher told me that it helps some children to remain sober during the latter part of the morning. 

Food brings satiety; food also regulates our behaviour!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)