This bird is a master of vocabulary. It can mimic other birds and animals flawlessly. It is also as expressive and emotive as the late actor Irrfan Khan. It is vocal on emotions but expresses only when the need is unavoidable.
It is none other than one of our closest avian acquaintances, the Oriental Magpie-Robin. Also, known as Asian Magpie or just Magpie Robin, it was earlier a member of 'thrush' family of birds but now belongs to Old World Flycatcher's.
A resident of the Indian subcontinent, it doesn't visit any arid areas. In winters, it moves to lower elevations. May be this Magpie has a special affiliation for humans; hence, it avoids forests or grasslands and lives near human settlements, even in our balconies. It builds its nest in tree hollows, wall gaps, or even in the roofs of buildings.
A neat looking fellow, it has glossy, blue-black head, breast, and upperparts. The lady’s head is bluish-grey instead. Both have white wing bars that start from their shoulder, and run to the wing tip and glossy white underside. Slightly hooked black beak and black beady eyes add on to their glamour.
A gentleman by nature, the robin often bows to all and shivers its long tail out of respect. But holds it upright while picking up the tidbits and creepy-crawlies from the ground. Primarily omnivorous, it eats anything edible from grains to earthworms, flower nectar, berries, vegetables, and occasionally, geckos, centipedes, and fish.
One can argue Magpie Robin as a fine Indian classicist. The high octave notes of this seasoned singer—which he uses for territorial, distress, threat, begging, emergence, and roosting calls—pour honey to the ears. The tenor in his voice often impresses his lady love. But when it comes to defending his territory, one can witness his vicious hissing and harsh churr or chhekh notes.
There is also infamy attribution to Magpies. They are known as thieves of shiny objects. But an inconclusive research by Exeter University on Eurasian Magpies shows that they suffer from 'neophobia—fear of new things'. However, Dr Tony Shephard, lead researcher of the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour told BBC News: "Some birds do use eye-catching objects in the nest after mating, like Black Kites, to ward off potential predators. But we had already looked inside a dozen magpie nests and not seen any shiny objects. So, I was not expecting magpies to use objects for this purpose."
But my daughter wonders, "Why then they take the objects near their nests and scatter them around? Why not somewhere else?" Would you like to answer?
Photo credits: Athiya Mahapatra
(This was first published in the 1-31 October 2021 edition of the Gobar Times)
An amateur ornithologist and closely follows the avian world.