A messenger à la Carlos Castaneda?
For the last few weeks, we have been receiving daily visits from a rare bird. I say a rare bird, but its behaviour is quite rare too. Sometimes, it comes two or three times a day now.
I am using the word ‘rare’ in the last sentence in one of its older senses meaning strange.
However, perfect specimens of this bird go for thousands of pounds. I first became aware of this species of bird about fifteen years ago, because you can see them in birdcages outside many Thai homes in Pattaya and Bangkok, much as you used to see canaries and budgerigars in cages in the UK until about the Seventies.
This bird is about the size of a Song Thrush, so quite a bit bigger, but the male of the species is held captive for the same reason, its song.
Rare Bird
Our rare bird, however, is female. To digress, the male has a plumed head, and a marvellous song, but the female does not.
Anyway, our rare bird, as I said sort of equates to a British Thrush.
Sixty years ago, there were thrushes in our garden every morning, pulling up worms. Nowadays, they are a rare sight indeed.
Over the last fifteen years, we have had two pairs build nests in our garden, but neither of them produced young.
I actually believe that the first nest was raided by humans for the eggs or chicks.
Getting back to our rare bird, rare meaning in the old sense ‘strange’, is completely neurotic. She comes to our window every morning like a postman, taps the window and squawks hysterically. I have opened the window to her, but then she flies five or six metres away and just watches me. She usually visits us two or three times a day: at 07:00, 13:00 and 15:00.
A messenger?
I have smoked glass in my office, but she usually sits on the cill and peers in, squawking. I know that some birds either fall I love with their own reflection, like Narcissus, and that others see their reflection as an adversary, but neither scenario seems to fit here.
As another twist, today, she brought a female friend with her, but she just sat in the bush two metres away and observed.
Each time, she looks in a panic about something, as if she wants to tell us something, although, of course, I could be putting that on her behaviour.
What do you reckon on our rare bird, could she be a familiar?