Chitchat bird
Karuvepillai if left to become fruits are real good bird food,” he informs. “Not many of us realise that the flowers of Kilakai can support bird life in a big way. He says that the commonly found trees like the good-old The Ophthalmologist-turned-ornithologist has taken pains to collect certain species of trees mentioned inĬhinna Kumizh, Vellai Ilavu, Alinjal, Adathoda, Purasu (Flame of the Forest) and A part of the garden should be left wild so that we create a naturally healthy habitat for birds,” says Badri.īadri’s garden has some of the rarest native plants and trees that are hardly found elsewhere in the city these days. The native grass can be used for lawns in place of the Korean grass so that we get insects and bees which in turn would attract birds. Instead of growing exotic imported plants, we should promote the native species. “My idea of garden is not the extremely neat space laden with ornamental plants. The birds that visit Badri’s garden range from the common crow and mynas to the Paradise Flycatcher and Rufus Treepie. Badri Narayanan, who maintains a huge garden at his residence. Mul-murungai are some of the plants that produce bright red flowers,” says Senior birder Dr. The more common Hibiscus and the rare Indian Cork Tree ( “Birds usually love red-coloured flowers. Planting flower-bearing shrubs will bring the small cute nectar-feeding birds like the purple, purple-rumped and Loten’s sunbirds.
#Chitchat bird Patch#
It’s amazing how a single fruiting tree or plant can create so much bird life around it.īird lovers in the city say that a small patch of garden in the compound is all it takes to attract birds to homes. But I am yet to sight the elusive Asian Koel that sings occasionally but disappears the moment I tip-toe to the backyard. Following the bulbuls, a flock of the yellow-billed babblers and common Mynas have become regular visitors to the tree. Since last few days, the chitchat has grown louder. And for me, to revel in the pleasures of seeing them engage in animated bird banter. It has become a ritual for the little birds to hold their morning conference at the Papaya tree in our backyard, between bites of the fruit. Until I hear them squeak, I am convinced the Sun hasn’t risen yet.
The red-vented bulbuls are my alarm these days.