Sahibi And Her Beloved Children by Gargi Mishra
You wouldn't recognise if I refer you to the Sahibi River in Delhi-NCR for birding. This water ecosystem - consisting a river draining into a lake - cutting across Delhi-Haryana is a paradise for hundreds of bird watchers chasing many migratory species and also to track the flamingos who have made this waterbody their residence. If you haven't Googled this, never heard of a river in the vicinity of the country's capital city, let me remind you: this is the Najafgarh Jheel. What we know presently as the Najafgarh Drain is the once healthy and silvery Sahibi River which drains into what is known as the Najafgarh Jheel or Lake.
The Najafgarh Jheel died long back after losing her healthy sheen and glory. The so-called demon of development devoured all the diverse flora and fauna in and around her. Once fed by Sahibi river is now receiving all the urban wastewater/ sewage water.
She earned her name according to her presence near a town called Najafgarh at the outskirts of Delhi. A natural shallow nullah/drain was connecting her to the river Yamuna that flows through Delhi. The subsequent widening of this natural nullah eventually drained the Jheel. Hence resulting the death of a biologically diverse lake.
The Sultanpur National Park, Haryana is situated near this Jheel of Najafgarh, is a well-known neighbour of Delhi and a part of the Najafgarh ecosystem. From this ecosystem, I introduce a winged angel called “VERDITER FLYCATCHER (Eumyias thalassinus)” that we had spotted on 23rd March 2019 in Sultanpur National Park for the first time.
It was an unusually hot late March Day. We were exhausted after four hours of exploration inside the park. About to call it a day, I had a glimpse of a blue bird charging into the woods. As usual, the sharp-eyed birder Mr. Sachin Sharma - who has always been with us while birding in this area - confirmed it as Verditer Flycatcher.
We took this as a call of chase by the flycatcher. The chase started and we scoped a kilometer before we could sight it. It was darker in shade, hence was a boy.
The word 'Verditer' originated from Old French (in 16th century) 'verd-de-terre' literally 'earth green/green of earth'. The word verditer itself is a powerhouse linked with many natural as well as artificially created minerals. The dictionary meaning of 'verditer' is a light blue or bluish-green pigment made by treating copper nitrate with calcium carbonate.
The most striking feature of a Verditer Flycatcher is its glossy copper sulphate to brilliant turquoise blue plumage. But very interestingly this bird does not get its plumage colouration from pigments (the colour giving substance in plants and animals). How would you react if you would know that it's not the true colour of the bird instead this is a structural colour.
Let me explain what is a 'structural colour'. It is the colour reflected by light from a surface/structure. If the source and angle of light change so does the shade. If I go little deep into the meaning, I would say the feathers absorb all the colours from sunlight except this shade of blue found in Verditer Flycatcher.
In the avian world not only blue rather white and violet are also structural colours or scientifically Schemochromes. Vinod Saranathan of Oxford University's Department of Zoology says "No known blue pigments are found in vertebrates." So, does this mean that all the blue shades that we see in vertebrates are just structural colours? Another interesting fact is that structural colour does not fade with time whereas pigmented colour does. It is really amazing that these feathered beauties have evolved to produce structural colouration.
This handsome dude clad in an intense blue Armani looks irresistible. The new-fashioned kohl application in between beady black eyes and beak is very impressive. But the girl prefers lighter shades of copper sulphate or turquoise blue which makes her exquisite. Her no-makeup look further accentuates her beauty.
Verditer Flycatchers are found in the Himalayas through Southeast Asia to Sumatra. They breed in summer months from west of Himalayas to east of Arunachal Pradesh (as per Dr. Salim Ali) and spread throughout Indian Subcontinent during winter.
Photo By: Athiya Mahapatra
Place: Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon, Haryana
