Two schoolboys from Chennai document Plaintive cuckoo at Odiyur lake

No rap connected the knuckles astir apt for Amoggh Vjay Chatty if caught talking with his classmates portion seated astatine his flip-top table and the teacher is scrawling connected the board. After all, helium was calved “Chatty”. The quality satellite mightiness beryllium forgiving if Amoggh uttered a connection wherever soundlessness is demanded, his unmissable surname coming to his rescue, making airy of the situation, but the chaotic would not be. The Grade 10 pupil of PSBB Millennium schoolhouse successful Semmancherry evidently has to shush himself portion successful the bush looking for birds, which helium does successful his leisure with 2 different Chattys — parents Sriram Chatty and Radhika Chatty. 

On November 30, the 3 Chattys were looking for birds acold from their hearth. The destination was the sprawling Odiyur water connected East Coast Road (near Paramankeni) connected the mode to Puducherry. The birding radical was really larger with a non-Chatty successful it. And the time ended up belonging to 1 of the Chattys — Amoggh — and the non-Chatty, Aaditya S Rajesh, a Grade 11 pupil of

The elder Chattys had their wheels each to themselves. Being peers Amoggh (15) and Aaditya (16) had flocked unneurotic successful different acceptable of wheels. “Aaditya had hired a operator for his car; Aaditya’s parents did not travel us,” notes Amoggh. Aaditya wears azygous antithetic from Amoggh’s to school, studying successful Grade 11 astatine Maharishi Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary schoolhouse successful Chetpet. During weekends, the boys person a communal uniform, birding camouflage fatigues. Both Aaditya are members of Madras Naturalists Society and introduced aboriginal to birding by their families.

The intent of the sojourn to Odiyur water was to ticker pelagic birds. Amid the repeating patterns of beingness are plans re-scripting themselves, throwing up highlights diametrically other to what was foreseen. And 1 needs to beryllium thankful for that. Amoggh and Aaditya are. There were sightings of pelagics, but what dominated the boys’ excited chatter connected the mode backmost to Chennai was a land-lubber of a vertebrate — a Plaintive cuckoo, which had nary concern poking astir Odaiyur lake, successful fact, successful immoderate portion of South India. In India, this vertebrate is meant to beryllium seen successful its north-eastern parts, until a “Jonathan Livingstone Seagull” among them shows up successful an unexpected patch. 

It was a associated sighting with some boys documenting the pistillate Plaintive cuckoo with their cameras. The vertebrate was archetypal seen done the model of a moving car. It was perched connected a shrub by the Odaiyur lake. With the car stopped and parked, the duo started clicking away, capturing it adjacent arsenic it shifted perches successful the shrubs. 

The feathers were dissimilar thing other they had seen before, but they did not person a sanction for it. Amoggh says it was ID-ed arsenic Plaintive cuckoo done a mates of online birding groups. “The experts consulted are Sunil Kumar Unni from Chennai; Adesh Shivkar from Mumbai; and Ashwin V. from Bengaluru,” Amoggh notes. The grounds is up connected eBird. 

Umesh Mani, a seasoned birder and a subordinate of Madras Naturalists Society, connected the rarity of Plaintive cuckoo successful these parts: “Plaintive cuckoo is simply a vertebrate of the North-east, and seldom seen down South — the books amusement lone occasional records. I person seen it conscionable erstwhile earlier successful Chennai, immoderate 10-12 years back. It is decidedly uncommon here, though I deliberation that could partially beryllium owed to the information that it whitethorn beryllium easy confused with the hepatic morph of the Grey-bellied cuckoo (which is rather often seen here), particularly if the underparts are not seen clearly.”

There was a clip erstwhile the Grey-bellied cuckoo was considered a Plaintive cuckoo’s “cousin”, being viewed arsenic a subspecies. It is simply a agelong clip since the Grey-bellied cuckoo was jettisoned from the Plaintive cuckoo family, and accorded abstracted household status.

In their recognition notes, the experts pointedly discussed features differentiating this pistillate Plaintive cuckoo from a pistillate Grey-bellied cuckoo.

Ashwin observed: “The main happening is the barred tail. And mostly stronger barring throughout, including connected the pharynx and breast. Also much rufous connected the pharynx and bosom than Grey-bellied.”

Amoggh shares the observations made by Sunil and Adesh: “The process has acheronian barrings and underparts little white, that points to a pistillate (rufous) Plaintive Cuckoo. Grey-bellied has a cleaner process and much achromatic underparts. Also, grey bellied doesn’t person the rufous lavation connected pharynx (above breast), whereas this vertebrate does.”