On mornings, at day break, this Magpie robin is at its perch on the summit of a coconut tree, with its chorus of bird calls! The only days I did not notice it in the last two weeks was when it was raining heavily. If it was only a drizzle, the Magpie robin was there in the same perch with its bird calls.
I noticed the bills and the tail during its bird calls. There were different movements in the bills and tail. They corresponded with its varying tone, loudness and duration of the call. Its singing involved the whole body participating. Its emotional state was expressed in its singing. They were not just bird calls but an expression of its language of feeling which it was communicating.
This is the mating season. I wonder whether it was calling for partner! I am yet to notice another Magpie robin coming to its vicinity or giving reciprocal calls.
What touched me was its routine almost every day! The tuneful singing is its habit!
We make ourselves known to others by our acts of kindness, thoughtful behaviour, and gestures of mindfulness.
Our domestic worker came to enquire on Sunday if all was well with us as it was raining through the night! I felt touched by his gesture. A friend sent a message hearing that there was red alert in our area following incessant rain.
Their sensitive and caring ways brought a surprise. How are we to others, is the larger question that we skip or forget to consider. The above two examples prompted me to send messages to fifteen friends that I was not in touch with recently. I remember how some friends take care to stay in touch, sharing their joyful and trying experiences!
The language of the heart is more than the language spoken by the lips. The nearness we feel towards people when expressed intimately and thoughtfully, convey the language of the heart!
The Magpie robin in its bird call carried a language of the heart giving itself to make the calls tuneful and melodious!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
