A Petite Songster...

1/9/2023

Some birds are often better heard than seen.
As we were scouting the undulating terrain of Coyote hills, we heard a snippet of a mellifluous flute-like call. Initially we couldn’t locate the origin of the call till a flutter of bright yellow caught our attention. And there it was, sitting on a small rock flouting its iridescent yellow breast with a characteristic V shaped black band. It was the Western Meadowlark!
This popular song bird is the official state bird of six states in the US: Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming. In Oregon, there was an animated debate in the state legislature as to what should be the state bird. The choice was between osprey and the western meadowlark. The spirited discussion was resolved when one member played the song of the western meadowlark and that settled the discussion! It was unanimously decided that it would be the state bird. A compromise of sorts was then negotiated and the osprey was voted as the state raptor!
Who can resist the flirty appeal of the meadowlark song?
It flits and flutters
Singing a flirty tune
Minstrel of the meadows…

5 Comments

Sobhana H

1/9/2023 08:48:51 pm

As usual informative text accompanying a beautiful picture. Do you have the audio of the larks song?

Ranjini Rajgopalan

1/9/2023 09:35:12 pm

There is beauty in what we see and hear! This bird has both the attributes! Your post is interesting and makes the reader want to know more!! Which I always do. On reading a little more I learnt that this bird sings even as it flies unlike most birds that sing only when perched. A happy bird!! Fun loving!! Thank you for sharing

Rajan

1/9/2023 10:59:04 pm

It was Carly Simon who wrote "the sound of birds stops the noise in my mind'. Very true. But one should be tuned to listen and appreciate it. Otherwise he/ she will be habitually deaf to it or will not be in the mode of consciously registering it.
It is an aestetic tragedy that the beautiful and wonderful things we often see around us become more and more invisible and we take them for granted. Flowers or birds, colurful sky or clouds, splender of the sunset or magic of the moonlight...anything like that.
Familiarity breeds insensitivity.
When we see them more often, we notice them less and less.

Thanks a looot sir for reviving and refining our sensitivity towards the natural world around us. Your reflective narrations and invoking reminiscences induce mindfulness in the readers. Our habitually callosed minds become more tender and inclusive with this genre of writings. Three cheers.

Sudha Jayaram link

1/10/2023 01:10:49 am

Enjoyed reading this blog.।t inspired me to go out to my own garden and listen to the cuckoo with focus and interest.. Thanks for sharing your beautiful experiences with us.

Ajay

1/28/2023 03:14:02 am

I never knew that the western meadowlark is disputed property across the states; no wonder the bird looks either discombobulated or patronised with an inflated chest flaunting its beauty.

A Petite Songster...

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Dr Raguram

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