The above Bulbul longingly waited looking at the Chilli plant with ripening chillies and fed on one. Soon it flew away from that site to find the feeding station in our garden as seen in the last two photos! From there it joined another Bulbul and Leaf bird on the summit of a tree in the east boundary of the garden!
Later I noticed the two Bulbuls perched blissfully together, in an early sign of courtship!
It is while watching the bird behaviours we get a glimpse of the essentials that birds seek after- shelter, feed, togetherness...!
There are pairs of Bulbuls who regularly visit the feeding station in the garden. The photo below is one of such a pair.
I have noticed this that they feed taking turns! They arrive together; each waits for the other while feeding and they leave together! This language of communicative presence became an enquiry for me to know more about bird behaviour!
Birds once formed as a pair are intensely loyal to each other! Whether they remain loyal only for a breeding season or life long would vary from species to species of birds.
This grounding of loyalty is nurtured through communicative presence!
The above two photos of a pair of Bulbuls illustrative this communicative presence. The male bird in the feeding station was chirping in a low tone audible enough for the female bird that was perched on a tree! The male bird did not start feeding at the feeding station on arrival. It thought of its pair and kept waiting.
There is a difference between physical presence and communicative presence .
The physical presence is being together while communicative presence brings the ambience of intimacy.
I have had thoughts recently to propose an intimacy quotient to gauge the growing relationship between a wife and husband!
One essential feature of the intimacy quotient is communicative presence that a wife and husband would experience when being together.!
The sense of presence to each other as a husband and wife would encompasses the senses of looking, hearing, feeling and touching and an awareness of gratefulness, appreciation, affirmation and trustful regards toward each other. It is when feelings and the awareness are also expressed verbally, the presence becomes a heart level communication. The love language edifies each other and feeds the mutual intimacy to grow!
I am grateful to the avian visitors to our garden, who over the last 14 years since Anna and I live in our cottage, brought many experiences of awakening by their presence and behaviour.
The avian friends planted within us, the seeds of communicative presence and intimacy quotient!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
