Hoopoe, oh dear Hoopoe, where are you? This sad birdwatcher sorely misses you

                           

Lovely and loveable Hoopoe! I simply adore this bird. A small, myna-sized avian friend, it has such a pretty fawn-coloured plumage with black and white zebra markings hand-crafted by nature into an interesting geometric design on the back, wings and tail. A charming, fan-shaped crest on the head adds to its overall beauty and grace; the long, slender, curvaceous beak no less. On its plumage, stylish crest in particular (Hoopoe’s very own fashion statement, I would say), M Krishnan, one of India’s finest birdmen (next to Salim Ali) and known for his scintillating writings on birds/wildlife has the following to say:

“The very full crest is spread out into a flamboyant fan, then suddenly shut tight into a spike counterbalancing the curved line of the beak, this gesture being repeated again and again as if to relieve the tedium of the long, pedestrian search for food. There are many birds with highly emotional tails, but here it is the head that wears the crown that is uneasy. The folding and unfolding of the volatile crest express the entire emotional range of the bird, and each passing mood. I have seen a Hoopoe indulge in this play with its crest six times within a minute for no reason that I could discern, but there are rules regulating its conduct in search of prey, or when it takes off from the ground, the crest is shut close, and just before alighting from flight it is fanned out as fully as it can be…

Hoopoe on the lawn is strikingly decorative as any bird of strange plumage, though it is fulfilling a daily need and being useful to us-- how rarely does beauty go with routine need and utility! As the bird moves forward on invisible feet, the slanting sun touches it, turning the fulvous sienna (brownish yellow) of its breast and crest to liquid gold, revealing fully the emphatic contrasts of black and white in the back….”
That was the distinguished M Krishnan on Hoopoe.

I, a humble Palampurwalla,  often used to meet this bird in the open grassland near Differpat (beside the road from SSB chowk to  Neugal café, Palampur) on my morning walks and feel thrilled by its sight. At times a Hoopoe would - out of nowhere - descend on the outer, grassy part of our courtyard in search of worms, grubs and insects- its staple food. However, sadly, I see this bird no more. The large sloping meadow at Differpat now supports two eye sores:  a government tea nursery and a big PWD store. Some buildings too have come up virtually obliterating this patch of green where once sheep and cattle used to graze and young boys and girls played their छुपन-छुपाई, स्टापू, फिड्डु and other such rural games now almost extinct. Since this (shamlat) pasture-land afforded a spectacular view, I often took an evening stroll too and sitting on a rock watched the preternatural bliss of a setting sun.

Quite often I wonder and worry why this dainty little bird, once quite ubiquitous, has become so elusive now? Has it become another victim to the fast expanding jungles of concrete? Has it suffered serious habitat loss? Has its population dwindled to alarmingly low levels? If so, we would have lost – or might do so in the near future - not just a bird that was not only a picture of loveliness but a great friend of the farmer as well. For, many of the crop pests that worry the farmer are Hoopoe’s favourite food.  

Well, if you love watching birds like I do - or even if you don’t - do look for this one on any open grassland or a pasture: it is so easily, unmistakably recognisable. Greet it and welcome it.  Appreciate the beauty of its plumage and its graceful movements especially the fanning out and then shrinking back of its fabulous crest (as so aptly described by Krishnan) and how it goes about pecking the ground with its artistically carved beak. You will be mesmerised. And, as you walk by, please don’t forget to say to it my Hello and tell: “Hi Hoopoe! Subhash, your old friend, loves you so, dearie; and misses you too. Do show up to him some  day.”

                                                     

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