Skippy

This post goes to the one I am completely in love with. Tiny and fluffy, though this bundle of feathers, is not difficult to spot, it is extremely difficult to observe. Easily located by its chirrup chirrup, it is hard to locate in the leaves not only because of its size, which ranges from 10-14 cms or 3-5 in (which means smaller than a sparrow, if you are like me and these numbers don't mean anything to you), but also because of its habit of constantly moving about. Hence, the name Skippy given to it by me. Known as a very restless bird, it is often said that this bird is more heard than seen. Though I think, if you keep on trying, you will see it. :)

Like I said, it's a chotu sa bird. With a puffed out white/grey chest and reddish tint(rufous colour) on its head. Its wings are green and brown in colour, which provide it a perfect camouflage in the tress. Its prominent feature is its long green tail, which it keeps on moving. The tail is sort of alert all the time, which looks pretty cute on the little round bird. Oh, did I mention it is one of those round, plump little birds? No wonder one of my favourite huh?! :D

Image courtesy: Nimish Kane (nagpurbirds.org)

So if you haven't been able to guess by now, I'm talking about a tailorbird. COMMON TAILORBIRD to be exact. It gets its name because of its nesting habits, where it actually SEWS the leaves of a tree with a plant fibre or spider's web or something like that. Cool huh?! In Hindi, it is called Darzi, no surprise there I guess! And if like me, you are a fan of Rudyard Kipling, then you might be able to remember this heroic bird from the book, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, where the couple helps the mongoose fight a snake.

Though it is a piece of fiction and tailorbirds won't feign to distract the snake as in the story, I still believe that these birds are pretty bold. With their loud calls and skipping on the ground, looking for insects, they hardly seem worried about their predators. Usually seen in a pair, tailorbirds can be found easily in urban gardens. All you have to do is follow the sound of their voice, my friends! And there you'll be able to see two tiny things skipping from one place to the other.

Happy Spotting!