Early in the morning in Wayanad, I heard somebody whistling. Not a particularly merry tune or a fast tune, and not the same tune each time, but a random pattern of notes going up and down the scale - like somebody whistling while walking up and down with no particular agenda. A particularly happy person, I thought. Perhaps the security guard or one of the people who work at the resort. And why not, to live and work in a place like this....
But the song went on from 6 to 7 30 am. It then hit me that it was a bird. I called my avian-encyclopaedia friend (AEF) to ask her what bird it is, but she didn't answer. Must be deep in some forest herself, I thought....
I came back and tried to google, but didn't find anything. Thankfully, AEF called soon and set my mind at rest. The moment I said, "a bird whistling like a human", she said, "Aah, the Malabar Whistling Thrusth. Did it sound like this?" and she whistled it for me. And yes, that was it.
I looked it up and found that the common name for it is the Whistling Schoolboy or Idle Schoolboy - both of which are such perfect descriptions!
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The song Another sampleA longer one. It was one of the most beautiful songs I have heard. By itself the whistle is fascinating, but imagine sitting in that greenery and silence early in the morning, and amidst the sharper and quicker chirping of a thousand birds, somewhere in the background you hear this vague, haunting sound.........
I told you I am on the verge of bird mania. Now all I need is a good pair of binoculars and a holiday in the jungle with AEF. :)