A bird bath !

The above sequence of a Bulbul having its morning ritual of bath was a fascinating sight to watch. It dipped into the water a few times and seemed to take delight in doing so.

I noticed that it gave away a few bird calls while sitting at the edbe of the water pot. 

Soon another Bulbul flew in to give join the bathing rituals. They took turns to dip in the water.  

The above photos of the pair of Bulbuls having their bathing ritual  gave an indication that they were a pair. 

They had a way of getting into the water and coming out. They fell flat on the water keeping the neck and tail lifted up. They used the wings to splash water and returned to sit at the edge of the pot to dry the body before getting into the water again. 

The experience of watching this reminded me of a community bath of different species of birds when water pipe was leaking on the road side. The cacophony they created made the motorists to stop and watch this unusual sight of bird behaviour of celebration. 

Following this prolonged indulgent bathing experience, one of the Bulbuls stayed in the pot to groom the body and the other perched in the branch of the tree above for its grooming ritual. 

I am not sure if the rituals of other birds are similar in their behaviour during the ritual of bathing. The crows have a different bathing pattern. Some of the smaller birds like a sunbird does not get into the water to soak their body fully. They dip themselves into the water while sitting at the edge of the water pot. 

I too felt the celebrant mood of these Bulbuls on a cold morning. They chose the timing of the bath when the sun was just rising! They had the sunshine  to dry their body for their flight journey! A bird watcher once told me that birds come to the bird bath only when the sun is shining to dry their body. 

To watch these bird behaviour sitting in the courtyard of our cottage is more than a delightful experience. 

I am used to watching birds in our garden and is not used to go for birding excursion, unless I am in a new place for some other purpose. And yet, I have had many close encounters with some of the bird behaviours , by observing the birds during their visits to our garden.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)