Avian behaviour of awareness!

I watched this Myna who was hopping between pots of plants in our garden, suddenly stopping and looking in one direction and starting a chorus of soft and short bid calls. There was something surprising in it. I looked around to see if there was a predator or any other danger signal close by. 

It took a while before  I spotted another Myna perched on a post at the other end of our garden, soaked in the rain spell that ended a little while ago and currently sunbathing and drying the body.  The wet Myna responded by feeble calls in return. 

What I saw for the next ten minutes or so intrigued me! There was a lot of communication between the two Myna with variations of bird calls in tone, decibels and duration.

A 'feeling' Myna, reaching out to another which looked soaked and unable to fly till the feathers were dry! A bird which gets soaked in rain needs time to groom the body to be flight ready. 

The myna which was dry and moving between the plant pots paused and participated in the grooming process of the wet bird by keeping in touch verbally. 

To me this is the heart of living! Living mindfully of others, whether the other person is held back by trivial reason or a serious reason, from moving forward! 

The wet Myna having dried itself in the sunshine flew away and the Myna in our garden continued its stroll as before. 

What was special to me in this scene was the way birds communicate proportionate to the needs of the situation. I understand that a bird wet and soaked in rain has an unsettled feeling as it can hardly fly or can make only short flight. Its vulnerability even to loose balance against the force of gravity, while soaring high is real. It was at this critical time a Myna became a distant companion to a Myna who needed grooming to be flight ready. 

I was away in a hill station for two days. While watching birds I saw how solitary birds sound their bird calls to locate other birds in the vicinity. They cross species barrier and communicate to each other, especially small birds. 

Some avian behaviour prompt us as humans to review how much we are mindful of others in regular and special circumstances. 

The wet Myna was almost dry in a few minutes and the photo above shows how it was planning its flight path!

That was what stayed with me! With bird calls the dry myna mindfully supported the wet Myna. All what the wet Myna needed was that filial regard!

That leaves within me a message to ponder upon: how ready I am to offer little acts of kindness to others, when they are vulnerable!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)