Close Encounters!

The author introduces us to two amazing yet very different bird species, showing us the diversity of our ecosystems,

- ARJIT JERE

Pune's hills and rivers are green islands of biodiversity surrounded by the grey urban jungle. I regularly explore these regions to observe the biodiversity. It was a regular day of birding for me, near the hills of the Maharashtra Institute of Technology. I was trudging along the slopes of the hill, trying to look for birds in the bushes and trees nearby.

My surroundings darkened as I went under the thick canopy, chock-a-block with vegetation. A dash of orange greeted me as I peered into the darkness. I looked through my binoculars to see a little bird with a black cap and fiery orange belly. The small minivet had made its entrance. But my attention was piqued by a familiar, loud and prolonged "kuk-kuk" single-note call cutting through the trees. I turned my gaze towards the direction of the sound, to locate its source. I saw a cavity near the top of a bare tree. Surely, this was a nest, I thought! Near this hole, hanging high up on the tree bark like some acrobatic circus performer, was an olive-green bird. Its face had a splash of yellow and red as if someone had played Holi with it! For the untrained eye without binoculars, this bird could be mistaken for a woodpecker. But it was no woodpecker, it was a Coppersmith Barbet!