Booted Warbler Without Boots By Gargi Mishra
American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson rightly said: “Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.” This “patience” is inevitable for bird watchers, particularly when one faces the task of identifying one of the millions of creatures of the planet Earth. I spotted a small brownish-grey bird foraging restlessly on a Moringa tree in the backyard of our home in Sonepur (Odisha) during January 2021. Not sure about his/her identity, I deployed that “pace” of nature to unravel her "secret”.
The unspoken interaction with this bird was an internal conversation I had with him/her. "Hey little buddy! Who are you?" I asked. Heard a reply in silence “I am Booted Warbler." Phew!!!
My next internal conversation with this little beauty: "But I can't see your boots." He paused for a moment and replied, "Well, I have not been bestowed with prominent features except for a pair of dark boots which often goes unnoticed. How can I prove my identity?" Assuring him/her not to worry I went on my quest to know more about this challenging individual. The quest involved elaborate behavioural observations, referencing field notes, and dissecting the video footages.
The entire population of BOOTED WARBLERS (Iduna caligata) winters mainly in Central East and South East India. They arrive by September and leave by April. "These long-distance migrants come from extreme South East Finland, West and South West Russia, East of Kazakhstan, extreme North West China, North East Mongolia and South-Central Siberia which are breeding grounds for the birds" says Dr. Gurpartap Singh, my guru-on-call.
Its species name 'caligata' has been derived from the Latin word 'caliga' means a smooth and lightweight Roman army boot and 'caligata' means 'booted'. I wonder whether it's the dark boot on the toes or the smooth tarsi of the bird that has earned his/her name!
But the genus name 'Iduna' probably named after the Norse (a North Germanic ethno-linguistic group of people) goddess of Spring and rejuvenation, Iduna/Idun. There is no specific link/explanation behind the naming. But after observing the youthful and hyperactive maneuver of the little guy I feel Iduna must have blessed him/her.
This suited-booted gentleman has greyish brown upper body, strong buff or yellowish grey hue on breast sides and flanks, rounded crown, short and square ended tail with pale whitish edges and tips, outer feathers with pale tips, short and fine light brownish-pink bill with dark culmen (upper surface of the upper mandible) and black tip, greyish pink or greyish brown legs with darker and greyer toes.
The most distinct feature (identification clue) is its short whitish supercilium which defuses squarishly by reaching at the rear edge of the eyes. The dark brown forecrown makes the supercilium prominent. Often a dark spot is visible on the lore.
Both boys and girls have similar getup. The immatures look like adults but often with rufous tinge above.
Booted Warbler is very similar to Sykes's Warbler. But comparatively Sykes's Warbler has a longish slender/flatish body, pointy head and longer bill with no black tip. The abruptly-ending pot belly of the Booted Warbler separates him from a Sykes's. But for me that resembled the cute little protruding tummy of an infant upon which every parent love 'blowing a raspberry'.
The scrub grounds are their favourite habitats but often found foraging among the flowers and leaves of Acacia and Prosopis.
Their primary food consists of insects and other invertebrates like grasshoppers, bugs, moths, butterflies, ants, wasps, beetles, spiders and mites.
Calling of the Booted Warbler is a fast-warbling chatter having no clear pattern or repetition of notes.
Photo By: Gargi Mishra
