Flying Feathers

Ah,but appearances can often be misleading. Imagine this: its early winter and youre at the edge of a lake. On which maybe a thousand ducks of all sorts are disporting themselves. NRI ducks. Theyve flown maybe 5,000 km from some godforsaken Siberian wilderness to be here and have been doing this forever. And theyve arrived here virtually on the same day as they did the year before and the year before that.

As for you? You wander about along the lakes banks and decide to head back. And come to a fork in the path and stop. Which one do you take? Um… Its 10 times worse in a wooded area where you can hear the doves and pigeons crooning sweetly and knowingly in the trees. Reminding you that they can find their way back home from wherever,no problem,and flew espionage missions in World War II. While you need a GPS to find your way around your 1,000 sq foot barsati. So,whos the mickey now?

Whats worse,is that we still dont know exactly how these birds do it. Weve homed in (excuse the pun) on several clues: we know birds have a magnetic compass thingy in their little bird brains and buried in their beaks,which sort of enables them to see the earths magnetic field,we know they follow leading lines such as river courses,coastlines,mountain ranges and now probably expressways. We know they use the sun and stars to plot course,we know some have incredible hearing and can hear the surf on Bondi Beach while hundreds of miles away. We know that what sets them off on their journeys,is photoperiodism the length of the day (rather than the weather),which gives them the urge to be up and away,rather (I like to think) like the urge one has to go to the bathroom (answering natures call after all!) after a couple of pints. We know why they make these humongous annual north to south journeys: the northern hemisphere turns icy and hostile in winter and all insect and plant life (food) dies,the southern hemisphere is balmy and hospitable the perfect holiday resort. Were beginning to discover the routes they fly,by sticking tracking devices on them,so we can protect these routes.

We know,we know,we know. But what we still dont know is how they mix all of these talents together. To rub it in,there are the little fellows like wagtails who like showing you up by turning up on your handkerchief-sized lawn virtually on the same morning in October every year,waggle their tails and squeak,Hi,Im back,so whats new bud? It tilts the scales at maybe 12 grams.

It gets worse when you learn how some of these guys have made the journey. Bar-headed geese fly over the Everest,which must be like singing opera and running cross-country at the same time. Some waders make non-stop trans-oceanic crossings,covering thousands of kilometers,others transit en route without Schengen visas. A flock of 500 ducks can land simultaneously on a lake without crashing into one another try that with a squadron of MIGs. Some species need no lessons at all,others follow their parents. Big birds (like geese and cranes) fly by day,the tiny-tots fly by night,using the stars to navigate.

But hang on,its not as though theres great intellect at work here; migratory birds are hardwired and programmed to fly up and down every year; theyre not using logic and reason and thinking things through like we humans do. Theyre like robots.

Perhaps. But maybe,we could do better than the lady who gave us directions in Goa some years ago. Go this way,that way and go,go,go, she said confidently,pointing down the road and wiggling her hands.

*Ranjit Lal is an author,environmentalist and bird watcher. In this column,he reflects on the eccentricities and absurdities of nature