The tale of chirping birds in campus

Do you know that there are many migratory birds in our campus? Are you passionate about listening to their chirping and observing them for some time? If yes, then you should definitely come near the banyan tree in the quadrangle at the science block a little early than your usual college time.

The spring season is on and there are many different species of birds that come down to Karnataka. The banyan tree at the quadrangle is one of the main places where these birds settle. They come in groups of eight in the morning and would munch the fruits from this tree. They also assure that the campus is lively with their chirping right from early hours till the evening time.

Did I hear someone asking about the names of these birds? Well, the most attractive species amongst all these migrated birds is Rose Pastor, which is also called as Rose Starling. These birds are called so as their chest region is rosy in colour and they hail from Europe. Apart from Rose Starling, there are birds like Parakeets, Kites, Koyals and Falkens as well.

Prof. Wilson, HOD of Environmental Science department is one of those who is keenly observing these birds. He had much to say: “I have been observing these birds (Rose Starling) for the past few years and what I noticed was that they have come a little late this time. Usually, they come during February but this time, they reached here in the beginning of the month of March. They are expected to be here till April. But, I am not much sure as they came late this time. There are worms inside the fruit here and these birds eat them. They also get a lot of energy that they chirp the whole day long. Our students are doing some observations in this regard.”

“Earlier there were many birds which migrated from different places. Compared to last time, the number of birds has decreased. The reason may be the escalating traffic and other industrial developments,” said, Geetha Vishwanath, HOD of Zoology department.

She further added, “Students of Zoology department keep a watch on all types of bird species that come down to our college and they say it is interesting.”

In spite of the tight scheduled at college, students were also found spending some time in observing these migratory birds. “We notice many birds near the quadrangle and it is really interesting to observe them,” said, Vidya, a student from I CBBT.

- Navami S, I M S Com