The still postures of birds, when they are perched in their favourite sites in our garden, share some information about the way they internalise the environment. This Barbet during its transit halt in the gauva plant for about three minutes, gave an indication of the alert presence and the navigation plan ahead!
Its location in the guava tree is only for a short time, and yet is a link in its flight path !
A Barbet is a moving and flying bird. It is not common to see it on the ground or in the lawn hopping like a Magpie robin or a Greater Coucal or a Mynah.
Its life is lived in the trees often sheltered by the foliage. Its plumage merges withe the green leaves. Its safety is finding its shelter in the trees.
So all flight movements are for finding fruits to feed on and to remain sheltered in the shade of the foliage. Its fear prone behaviour is evident when a squirrel moves in its vicinity in the foliage of the tree. It flies away to a safer place on spotting a squirrel. However it would chase away a Bulbul from the feeding station. It is not used to co-feeding.
There are three behavioural patterns which are common to Barbets. They are greedy feeders taking larger chunks of fruits between the bills and struggling to swallow. When possible they would fly away with fruits between their bills to feed privately! Their bird calls are sonorous and distinct, but do not convey a socialising instinct to draw other birds to their proximity.
That makes me wonder whether Barbets practice a defensive presence all for themselves! Do they practice living insulated!
I pondered over this when the premier of Israel made a presentation in the United Nations general assembly two days ago, with a territorial map in his hand showing how Israel disarmed at least seven opponents in its territorial region, declaring it as a trail of victory over other nations!
Is Israel seeking for insulated existence!
The globalised world on one side is seeking for collaborative existence. On the other side countries like China, Russia, and the USA seem to convey an authoritarian and dominant mood to exist controlling others!
Why continue to turn back in history to accuse Adolf Hitler of fascism when some countries are behaving similarly in the current time !
About 142 countries vote for independent Palestine nation and less than ten countries oppose that in the United Nation's general assembly. Many representatives of countries walked out of the assembly when the Israel premier was addressing the assembly.
I suspect, what is common between Barbet's behaviour and that of these few countries is individualism, isolationism and authoritarianism!
I wonder whether we would return to a better relationship between nations honouring liberty, fraternity and democracy!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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