An Avian Nomad . . .

It was a cold morning and the sun was streaming through the early morning mist. As I was making my way through the earthen bund at Mangalajodi, a flash of blue in the swampy ground attracted my attention. It was the bluethroat! It was running on the ground much like a mouse, searching for insects. I stood there for a while watching this petite bird with resplendent colours.
The bluethroat (Lucinia Svecica) is a small migratory bird. Svecica means “from Sweden”. Linnaeus gave the bird this name in 1758. Perhaps the species was then very common in Sweden and therefore received this name.
Bluethroat is one among the many birds that migrate to India in winter and leave with the onset of summer. I understand that this bird comes all the way from Alaska.  Despite its small size, it is capable of travelling up to 80-100 km per day.
Birds are the stuff of myth and legend in every culture and Bluethroat is no exception. During their exile, the Pandavas were hiding in a dense forest. One afternoon, Bheema, the strongest of the brothers, was resting after his lunch. Suddenly, Bheema woke up feeling some pain in his ears and notice a snake disappearing amongst the bushes after biting him.  He started feeling dizzy because of the snake venom and started losing his consciousness. According to the legend, a little bird with a red bib came and poked her pointed beak in the wound caused by the snake bite and began to suck out the venom. Bhima was amazed at the kindness of the small bird trying so hard to save him. To his great dismay he noticed that the red patch at the bird’s throat was turning blue and the bird was dying. He then noticed a group of bulbuls hopping over the little bird, pouring nectar into the throat of the dying bird. The nectar washed away the venom and the little bird recovered its strength slowly. To his great surprise, Bhima noticed that the bird’s red throat has turned into blue! He named the bird as Nil Kanthi as it had a blue throat like Mahadev. But this Neel Kanthi is different from the Indian Roller which is known as Neel Kanth.
With great effort, I prised my eyes away from this diminutive bird till it sallied across with its sonorous call.
As Matisse commented, “A certain blue enters your soul”.
(Today is World Migratory Day!) 
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