The five movements!

I remember watching the grooming exercise of small birds on many occasions and did not seem to think of it as a programmed activity. When I noticed this Sunbird perched in the neem tree in our garden, what I noticed first was how it inspected different parts of its body. Having done that,  the bird followed five movements in an order and followed the same sequences about ten times. Every step was followed in each cycle of these movements. 

The following were the five movements of grooming in a sequence, which I happened to notice in this Sunbird today. 

The last photo above was revealing when it stretched its body. The contrast with the first photo above, before the grooming activity is obvious in this photo. 

The bird attended to the feathers, unfolding the wings, flexing sideways and downwards, and stretching the body in the axial plane. 

It was while watching the above process in repeated cycles, I realised the attention that a bird gives to keep its body ready aerodynamically for all flight movements. 

A male Sunbird, probably the pair of the earlier one, was perched in the same tree in another branch engaged in grooming. It followed the steps of the earlier bird. 

It was also engaged in combing the feather and oiling them with its beaks. 

A consultant physician told me last week, how difficult it was to get fifty percent compliance of a regular body exercise regimen, he prescribed for people above forty years of age, to keep themselves fit, agile, trim with good exercise tolerance. They seem to give every form of excuse to justify in not being able to do the exercise, twice a week. 

To see the birds do the grooming of their body two or three times a day  speak a lot of the conditioning they create and follow as a routine. 

As I write this, I recall how I too have had occasions of missing a three kilometre walk prescribed to me 11 years ago. Even during travels, I keep reminding myself to keep the exercise as essential. The threefold emphasis for senior citizens, moderate exercises, low carbohydrate and high protein diet and a regular sleep rhythm seem to be taken casually even by medical professionals. 

One thing I have found easier by practice is to use the staircase and avoid taking lifts. While proceeding to the security section in an air port recently, as I took the staircase to climb and not the elevator, another person also joined me to find out why I take the stairs! That led to a friendly conversation of mutual benefit for the next hour till the boarding was announced. He was young and was struggling to wean himself from some indulgences.  

The bird's habit of grooming which I was able to watch today morning gave me yet another stimulus to be steadfast and consistent in guarding the body, mind and soul from weariness and dysfunction!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)