The light was slowly fading as we set out in a boat in the waters of the reservoir of the Ujani dam, near Bhigwan, a popular birding spot about 100km from Pune. ‘You simply must see the rosy starlings,’ said our guide enthusiastically, as he gently guided our boat to a clump of trees on the far left of the water body.
‘Starlings?’ I thought to myself. I wondered why we had to make a boat trip out to the lake just to see starlings. I had seen rosy starlings before and didn’t think that they deserved this special effort. They were myna-sized birds, with a light shade of pink on the body, chest and belly in contrast with black on the head, tail and wings. But they often got your attention — not because of their body colouration, but because they moved around in large flocks, often rather noisily.
Never alone
Rosy Starling with prey on a beautiful background.
I remembered the last time I had seen them. It was early morning in Delhi, and a chat that I was having with a friend over a cup of tea was rudely interrupted by harsh calls. We stepped into the balcony of her flat that overlooked a gulmohar tree in full bloom. Amidst the red of the gulmohar flowers was a group of starlings, energetically hopping about on the branches and calling out. Rosy starlings (or rosy pastors as they are also called) migrate every winter to peninsular India, some of them via Delhi. They breed in Central Asia and East Europe.
However, nothing, absolutely nothing, had prepared me for what I was going to witness at Bhigwan that evening: hundreds, maybe thousands, of rosy starlings partaking in an aerial display in the sky! Some beautiful experiences defy verbal descriptions as one cannot do full justice to them. The spectacle that we witnessed that evening is one such. But I will make an attempt, however inadequate!
As the starlings arrived to roost on the trees for the night, they seemed to be possessed with a restless energy. They moved en-masse like a cloud, swooping down towards the trees. Just as you thought they were going to settle down, they took off skywards, whirling, twirling, twisting and turning at different angles, changing shape and direction as they tirelessly flew about swiftly and in unison!
How on earth did they manage that, we wondered. How did they move about in such a synchronised manner without colliding with each other, considering their incredibly large numbers? What made them behave this way? Scientists are still studying this phenomenon, which is termed murmuration. They offer a few possible explanations for why this behaviour occurs: to confuse a bird of prey who would find it near impossible to single out a starling for a meal when they moved in such huge numbers and in unpredictable ways; to advertise a roosting site at dusk, so that large numbers could roost together for the night, which helps them stay warmer!
It’s starling time in India now, so do look out for them if you live anywhere in peninsular India. For those of you further North, you may be able to see them as they start their return migration back in March or April. If you aren’t lucky, then take a look at some of the starling murmuration videos that are uploaded on the web. I bet you too would be smitten!
This series on Conservation and Nature is brought to you by Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group. (www.kalpavriksh.org).
