A lucky spotting at Valparai

It was a pleasant evening. I was driving on the curvy roads of Valparai. Although, it falls under the Western Ghats, the soaring temperature did not feel like one. There wasn’t any canopy cover to protect us from the sweltering heat as the atmosphere was teeming with the dense thickets of tea gardens. Over the past few decades, tropical forests (across the world) have been harvested exponentially for tea, coffee or oil palm cultivation. Valparai is not an exception. Anyways, this story is not about deforestation or conservation, but about an adorable species and the very nature of tropical forests.

Forest bungalow in between the woods
Art by Anaga N

As the road meandered, I took a sharp turn, and entered the deep-rooted tropical forest from an open tea estate. A sudden change in the temperature hit me as I witnessed short tea shrubs transforming into tall and dense tropical trees. Sunlight had a tough time piercing through tiny breaks of the canopy covers and, hence altering the temperature.

To my right, I saw one forest bungalow erected in between the woods surrounded by silver oak and red sandalwood trees. Also, some eucalyptus trees were planted in an orderly manner in between. “Typical forest department work,” commented my friend with an impish smile.

Along these high-rise trees, grew some coffee plants on the ground, brimming with beans. Harvest season was just two to three weeks away.

On the other side of the bungalow, stood a bunch of neatly arranged arecanut  palm trees. Betel plants curled beautifully on these tall and slender trees. While some trees were covered completely by these creepers, others were sparsely covered; “It is quite a sight to behold,” remarked my friend. “Yeah! It totally is,” I responded back  with a grin.

The other side i.e. to my left, was also the same but without the bungalow. Hence, one can imagine the density of the woods. I saw a rough road piercing through them and was inviting. But then I recalled the conversation with the shopkeeper two days back, who warned me about the presence of sloth bears. “Appearance might deceive you, but trust me when I tell you, it is one of the most furious animals in this forest,” he cautioned.

I parked my car near that enticing rough path and saw a small group standing along the road, just outside the bungalow. Speaking with each other in sign language, they looked excited with their eyes glued onto the overhead branch of a Eucalyptus tree. Dressed in camouflaged outfits holding Nikon light-weight compact binoculars and carrying 600 mm DSLR lens, these guys looked as attractive as the jungle itself.

Seduced by these bunch of wildlife enthusiasts and an ever-attractive milieu, I got down excited and pleased, all the while eyeing to spot something striking or rare on the branches. And just as I took a  few steps, I saw that gorgeous bird. It was flitting on the branches, looking for something in between the bark, overlaying the eucalyptus trees. With its yellowish casque on top of its head, reddish eyes and elongated white tail with black stripes, it looked stunning and unique. It’s a large bird, sizing up to raptors. The small gathering did not seem to have any impact over the species, considering its extremely shy nature. Rather, it focused on  something more important.

After some minutes hard work, tearing off a few barks of the tree, the bird stuck onto something with its long and strong pointed yellow beak. Looked like its hard work had paid off. When it pulled off its beak, there was something stuck in between, trying hard to escape. But nothing can get off its sturdy hold.

After a closer look, through the binoculars, I recognized it to be a bat. The poor guy looked puny and blank, trapped in the clutches of those beaks. The bird wheeled the bat, keeping it in the tip of its beak and started munching it like a chewing gum. The bat rolled and rolled, until it turned into  masticated meat.

Gulping it, the bird took off, producing a whooshing noise, from the branches and flew into the woods over the rough road. The gaps in between its black and white feathers were responsible for that whizzing sound, which blended with the stillness of the atmosphere producing a reverberating effect.

We stood there rooted to the spot admiring this beauty which astonished us by all means – physical appearance, inventive behaviour and flight. ‘Call’ was the only thing we missed on that day, which I am sure would be unique as well. Afterall, for no reason it would have been named ‘malamulakki’ by the tribal people.

Meanwhile, in the middle of admiring this adorable species, few thoughts flashed in my mind. Isn’t it a fruit eating (frugivorous) bird? Then why would it prefer bats? Does it have anything to do with destruction of native fruit-bearing trees?

Its common food, or one can even say the most preferred, is Ficus fruits. I even remember the conversation from one of the local people who recommended this place. He said, “You can spot a big family (or  more) on one big old banyan tree. Follow the rough road trail in between the woods, hike for an hour and you will be there. But beware of the bears!”

Or is it consciously picking non-vegetarian food to feed its young ones at the early stage? This sort of behaviour is common among bulbuls. Although, they are fruit eaters, they carefully feed their chicks with worms and moths as a means of protein diet. And we consider these fellas as five-sensed beings!

With a troubled mind, I turned on my car engine and started driving, looking for similar observations hidden beneath this treasure trove, all the while polluting the atmosphere.

 

Did you guess the bird?