Summer Visitors
When we think of migrant birds, we automatically think of winter migrants. That's when numerous birds of dozens of species migrate from colder countries to our land for warmth. They stay here for the winter, fatten up for their return trip, and leave late winter or early spring. They normally do not breed here.
However, we also have some summer migrants. These birds migrate to Bangladesh from nearby countries for the duration of the summer and often breed here.
The Blue-tailed Bee-eater is one such bird, distinguished by a powder-blue tail. From the middle of this tail a single, wire-like thin feather emerges like a needle. Common throughout the country in the summer, I find it in Molvi Bazar's Hail Haor. It hunts for bees, dragonflies and other insects in flight. Like other bee-eaters, its flight is acrobatic: it twists, turns and contorts its body effortlessly to catch its (flying) prey. Catching its prey, it returns to its perch, this time flying slower in a straight line. Once settled, it sometimes beats its prey against its perch to expel venom or sting or to pulp it before consumption. The Blue-tailed Bee-eater breeds here, making nests in holes in the ground.
We get several summer visitors from the cuckoo family. The most common, and one I have seen several times, is the Jacobin Cuckoo. Also known as Pied Cuckoo, it is a black and white bird, the top half being black. Like other cuckoos it eats caterpillars, beetles, ants, and other insects. It is known to show up on the same day at the same location year after year.
Two other cuckoos, the Asian Emerald Cuckoo and the Chestnut-winged Cuckoo, are also summer visitors to Bangladesh. They are harder to find.
All three of these cuckoos are brood parasites. They do not build their own nests, instead laying their eggs in the nest of other birds. The Jacobin Cuckoo uses babblers as hosts, the Asian Emerald Cuckoo uses nests of sunbirds and spiderhunters, and the Chestnut-winged Cuckoo uses laughingthrush nests. Their eggs are the same colour and size as the eggs of the host.
Indian Pitta and Hooded Pitta are summer migrants to our land. They are colourful birds. The Indian Pitta is more common, often seen in the Bhawal National Forest near Dhaka. Pittas spend much time on the ground. They migrate here during the summer and breed, building their nests on the ground (the Indian Pitta which may also nest on the fork of a tree branch.) The Mangrove Pitta of Sundarban, another pretty bird, is a resident of our land. It is easier to see during the summer than in winter.
Other summer migrants include the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher and the Asian Paradise-flycatcher. The latter is also a resident of this land.
Some other birds are sporadically seen here during spring, summer and autumn. They are not necessarily migrants, but on their way somewhere and may be breaking their journey. They are called “passage migrants.” Among these are Amur Falcon, White-winged Tern, Indian Cuckoo and a few flycatchers. The Amur Falcon flies over Bangladesh to Nagaland. Once upon a time it was trapped there by the thousands, but recent conservation efforts in India have stopped that.
Thus summer visitors add colour and variety to summertime birding in Bangladesh.
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