Its clean-up time!

Preen, dip, bathe, and scratch! These are the various ways in which birdies take good care of their precious feathers. Here are a few examples taken during clean-up time!

Preening is so very time-consuming! Here an Indian Skimmer (top) uses its unusual, spectacular beak to comb through feathers, and a Silverbill is busy at it while also showing off the preen gland (just above the tail) from where birds get an "oil" to keep their feathers ship-shape!


A bath can be a serene experience, like the Shikra in the water. Else it can be boisterous with water flying everwhere: for some Comb Ducks, one duck's bathwater is another's drink, apparently!

And finally, the soothing scratch! Here a Silverbill, a Black-necked Stork juvenile, and a Sarus Crane find out the real meaning of the phrase "for every itch, there is a scratch"!

(Photograph information: Skimmer - Etawah district, Apr 9, 2009; Silverbill preening - lucknow, Nov 27, 2008; Shikra - Barabanki, Nov 23, 2008; Comb Duck - Etawah, Apr 9, 2009; Silverbill scratch - Barabanki, Nov 25, 2008; Black-necked Stork - Mainpuri, Apr 7, 2009; Sarus Crane - Etawah, Feb 12, 2009. Thanks to Satish for the scratch-itch phrase!)

Cluttered with history...

Most flood-plains have been fought over through humankind. Uttar Pradesh is no different - its long history remains in bits and pieces on the landscape showing up in unexpected ways. Here are three examples.

On the top is a structure in Hardoi district that locals claim was used by travellers to rest. Today, farmland has hemmed it in - a bubble of the past resisting today.

In the middle is a property marker in Lucknow district - used by land-lords to indicate the borders of their lands. Intricacy of markers reveals the owner's stature. This one is beside a lovely pond full of reeds and bird life. There will be more features on markers on this blog.

And finally, some tomb-stones in Rae Bareli district, the crumbling old with the already-ageing new, reminding one of the onion that Uttar Pradesh is - layers upon layers of time.

Unfortunately, spare little is being done to preserve, highlight, or restore these classics.

MmmmmMunias

Silverbills are a common species of Munias in Uttar Pradesh. They commonly engage in allopreening, meaning a bird preening another (as opposed to itself). And - as you can see - the preenee is better off than the preener. If one is not doing the trick, then maybe two will! (Photographs taken in Lucknow district, dated Nov 27, 2008)