White Breasted Water Hen In Belgaum

The air is filled with loud croaks, guttural cries and  I run out to the balcony to see who it is. The drains near grandma's house are overflowing because of the rains and the small plot of land in front of the house has turned into a marshland. The small puddles have broken their banks and turned into a stream. In this, I spy two sleek birds in tuxedos, their white face and underbelly shining in the gray-black rounded form of their heads. Their tails jerking up and down they plant their large feet firmly and poke through the water for insects. I go downstairs to take a closer look, but alas! I frighten them away. They run pretty fast and always keep a safe distance from me. One of them runs to the far end of the road and disappears around the corner. The other one flies to a nearby bush and keeps mum. I wait patiently for a while, give up and turn to go back into the house, when a loud racket ensues from the bush. I stand on my toes to take a peek. Apparently, the bird has the same idea and cranes its neck. It sees me and immediately hides again, not to be seen or heard. I let it be and go back inside.

These birds are white breasted waterhen. Much too shy around me, I can barely get a picture as they hobble away into someone's farm or waterlogged plot.  I love these birds - their combination of sleek, men in black looks with gawky, awkward feet that are much bigger in proportion to the rest of their body make them so interesting. They also remind me of no face ( kaonashi) from Spirited away.

Lucky for me, I see many pairs in the streets around grandma's house. It is breeding season. They are unafraid of the stray dogs. They seem to prefer walking to flying. In the evenings, they set up a wonderful orchestra, trying to woo the ladies.