What A Tail !

Sattal, Uttarakhand

Up until I made my way to Uttarakhand, I had no idea that these long tailed beauties existed in India and when I did see them, photographing them took a bit of figuring out. They’re pretty midsized birds but in no way are they relaxed and totally calm like owls. They flutter and hop about a fair bit. How they manage that without smashing those tails left and right, I cannot say. Maybe they do hit stuff but then, I think they have some reasonable ways of controlling their tails from hitting all the foliage around cause these guys are in the thicket a lot. See how he’s got it curled / bent up in Pic 1?

My first meeting with a few of them was at a bird hide. Thing with hides is that, the attractions know when to visit. Many will opinionate that hides bait birds but I really wonder how else would we watch the interactions between different species unless we set it up? They have different territories. They don’t go to war in neutral territory. So best of luck finding an incidental mix of flocks in the Himalayas toting heavy cameras around your necks and you’ll need a lot more luck if that mixing happens high up in a tree. Hey, I’ll even wager that more species fly to a hide when they hear a loud bird like the magpie raising Cain when it gets there. He’s like the dinner bell in these those parts.

Well these guys aren’t just loud, they’re bullies all around. They push smaller birds around. Make so much rucus as a group that the others have to literally move aside  till they pass through. That, and they’re also smart and playful. Can’t really blame the magpie for using his assets to get all that he can for himself and his clan now can we?

Now, these guys are Corvids, ie, Crow family. They have the longest tails among Corvids. It’s that tail that makes photographing them a learnt experience. See, I wanted the tail uncoiled in frame, I wanted the bird's eye and I wanted it to be a vertical shot. I finally got it after so many tries at it with them flying and hopping about in Pics 2 & 7. Then, I saw 2 together. Greed ! Well I didn’t manage that in a vertical, Pic 3. Too much bird for vertical. They're not as fast as the little ones I mentioned in "Woh Time Nahi Dengi !" Medium shutter speeds are fine with them. They pause, look you over and take their time. No perpetual hurry to get back in cover or keep moving to be hard targets.

Apparently these residents are pretty common in the Sattal and Bhimtal region now and the locals rarely pay them much heed but I did learn that the sightings were seasonal up until a few decades ago which brings me to the question of how do we know the population status of birds? How do you count? I recon it’s all guess work. The whole thing is based on trend reporting by locals. Unless of course, there’s a specific character that’s been in a spot for a while like my friend “The Odd Ruby Throat”.

I’m very glad to have met these guys. They make very pretty additions to my collection and I also have experience in handling long tailed birds. Now to catch a couple in flight.