In the early 1950s we lived in Banganapalli in Andhra Pradesh, a small Muslim Principality where the famous Banganapalli mangoes were grown first. The Muslims there were fond of keeping birds as pets for the table and for sport. Birds were regularly sold to them by the bird catchers for the table and sport.
In our house, we kept a Redvented Bulbul which is found almost throughout India. There are two other species of Bulbuls in India which have somewhat restricted distri-bution in North India. We also kept a few White-throated Munias. They are cute little birds which can be easily tamed.
Fried Bengalgram was powdered and mixed with water and made into small balls to feed the Redvented Bulbuls. The Munias were fed with pearl-millet grain. With their small and powerful beaks they removed the outer layer and ate the grain. In Banga-napalli, Munias were known as Piddi in Urdu. The birds were not kept in cages. A loop of string was slipped under their wings and they were put on a peg. One Redvented Bulbul constructed a nest on a sapota tree which was 15 feet tall in our garden in Tuticorin.
The Redvented Bulbul is a pugnacious bird and a favourite with fanciers for Bulbul fights. Two tamed Redvented Bulbuls were released in a room and were fed alternately with rounded balls of fried Bengalgram. Each bird would think the other was a competitor for food and would hold the head of the perceived opponent with its claws till the other bird was vanquished and driven away.
Munias can be released after being tamed. On being released, they fly away and sit on a tall tree. When somebody puts pearl-millet on the palm and waves up and down with the sound ol-ol the bird comes down from the tree and lands on the hand of the person! Birds have telescopic eyes due to the presence of a small structure known as pecten in their eyes. With this they can focus on small objects even from a long distance. Eagles flying at great height can clearly see a snake or a rat on the ground.
As small children we were having these two birds as pets in our house. At one time all of us were down with malaria. Banganapalli was notorious for malaria in those days. My mother told that these captive birds were cursing us all the time and, therefore, we were down with fever. She suggested that we should release the birds from captivity. When we released the birds, true to her word, the fever left us!
After many days, during one stormy night we heard the sound of a bird fluttering in the store room. We did not get up to see what it was as there was no electricity in that place. Next day we found our bulbul which was released by us earlier lying dead behind a trunk. It was really a wonder to us as to how the bird located our house among the large number of houses even on a dark and stormy night.
The bulbul would seem to have instincts like the racing pigeons. They have iron oxide particles on the upper part of their beaks which help them to sense the earth's magnetic field like a compass! Animals and birds kept in captivity, but when released into the wild, are unable to stand the rigours of nature and compete with other animals in the wild and ultimately perish.
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