Crows, mynahs, pheasants, parrots....surely there are easy ways of identifying these birds. But have you, as a parent, ever been in a situation when you were at a loss of words to name that common blue-black water bird or the white and black bird, slightly bigger than a sparrow, that sings beautifully?
Here is a book, ‘Keralathile Sadharana Pakshikal’ (Common Birds of Kerala) written in Malayalam by the noted birdwatcher C Sushanth. The book, with descriptions of over 180 birds in Kerala, could probably be the first and the best field guide for children interested in bird-watching.
“Birds are considered as the bio-indicators or those species that indicate a change in nature, the immediate environment or even the habitat. Any change in the environment or habitat will directly affect the birds and will be reflected in the presence or absence of birds. In other words, presence or absence of a species in a particular habitat directly points to the state of the habitat,” explained the author. “The aim of the book is to convey the message of conservation of nature through watching birds,” he added.
What makes the book appealing for children is the innovative categorisation of the book, in a manner that children would easily relate to. Thus we have five parts: ‘Pazhakothiyanmaarum Thenkothichikalum’ (Fruit-loving birds and Nectar-loving birds), ‘Pranipidiyanmarum Paattappidiyanmaarum’ (Insectivorous and Flycatchers), ‘Neerpakshikal’ (Water birds), ‘Irapidiyanmaarum Rathrincharanmaarum’ (Raptors and Nocturnal Birds), ‘Kaattupakshikalum Dhaanyakothiyanmaarum” (Forest birds and Grain-loving birds).
In each part there are descriptions of the common features and peculiarities of each family of birds. The children will be able to find the main identifying tips, details of the habitat the bird prefers, their flying pattern, food habit, breeding, nesting and even patterns of migration. Lest the kids go wrong, similar birds and similar species are also described.
So the next time they see an unusual bird in their neighbourhood, the kids can easily refer the field guide, which is very child-friendly, with some high quality photographs of the birds taken by Sushanth himself. “The book has a description of 187 birds along with its Malayalam name, English name and scientific name. It will help to popularise the vernacular name of each bird seen around,” said Sushanth.
The photographs in the book are sure to hook any child to bird-watching, they are extremely beautiful, sharp and descriptive. Most of the photos of this book were taken from Punchakari-Vellayani wetlands, Ponmudi-Kallar Reserve Forests, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Valppara, Koonthakulam Bird Sanctuary, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Muthumalai, Bandhipur, Nilambur, Vazhachal and Munnar. All together there are over 200 good photographs.
In the appendix of the book, details such as anatomy of the birds, bird studies in Kerala, and even the predators of the birds can be found.
The book published by the Kerala State Children’s Institute for Literature, will be released on December 24 as part of the ongoing Thiruvananthapuram book fair. The time is 6 p.m. and the venue is the Kanakakkunnu Palace. The price of the book is ` 100.
reema_narendran@expressbuzz.com