I watched this Barbet chipping away on this coconut palm tree to make a reasonably large hole. Its resolve to do so for about twenty minutes engaged me because the Barbets with the sharp and pointed bills are known to peck on fruits which have tough and thick shell. They can peck on jackfruit to make an opening to feed on the fruit within. They develop the skills to do so because they train their bills through sustained training.
After it had worked own creating a a gaping hole, it moved upward.
The pictures below is an attempt to make hole in a new site. Hearing a bird call, it flew away after a short while. However it would return to resume its intent in the morning during its flight movement.
Most birds have a pattern and daily ritual. For the Barbets, this is one of them. They are different from wood peckers, who remove the bark of a stem to find insects for their feed.
The Barbets do it as an exercise for their bill.
We too, have our routines that we follow because we find them useful and edifying.
I remember late Dr Ray Windsor, a cardio-thoracic surgeon from NewZeland, once mentioning in a conversation that his interest in playing Piano started when he was just four years old. Every time he had an in between time he would practice. When he became a medical student, he reached the level of a concert pianist of some repute. He developed skill through practice.
I remember how Rev P.C.Cheiryan, the headmaster of the school where I studied in my village school, St Thomas High school, told me once that I can develop skills in writing if I were to describe events and experiences in about 200 words. I used to write and give him to correct. The basic introduction to writing in English started in that final year at school. For me it became handy as I was weak in English and needed to get familiar with the language as the college education was in English medium.
Our rituals or routines contribute to our formation!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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