(Admission: This photograph is not of a quality acceptable to be publicised. It is only a memento of a fleeting, yet striking incidence that I have often read about, but never had an opportunity to experience first-hand until now.)
The Lotus Lake is a small, neglected, natural water body within the bounds of Aarey Forest which is filled up to its brim during the monsoon, a vast cricket ground with a brown spinning pitch down its centre at the height of summer, and littered with construction debris and religious offerings practically all round the year. With a tree-lined motorable road on its Western boundary and a copse of tall trees on its Northern bounds, this 3.5 acre pond has an impenetrable thicket of shrubs on the Eastern side and a barely negotiable marshy shore to its South.
Twilight still ruled on that Sunday morning as Junior and I squished through the marshy Southern banks towards the water edge. The air was thick with haze and the winter chill had taken a fairly strong grip over the forest. Having spent the better part of an hour observing a deceit of red-wattled lapwings (Vanellus indicus), broods of white-breasted waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus), a couple of little cormorants (Microcarbo niger) and the odd glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) besides trying to study bird tracks – and even a couple of leopard pug marks – in the sludge, we decided we had had enough of the cloggy mud clinging to our shoes.

Even though it was past the hour of sunup the light was not much better as the winter gloom and cloud cover were seemingly decided upon making no concessions. We wandered around to the Western side of the lake where we could watch a minor congregations of cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) and a couple of little egrets (Egretta garzetta) from as close as 50 metres standing shielded by the trees, and, more importantly, on dry and higher ground.
As we watched the egrets an interesting action of one particular little egret caught my eye. This bird was shaking and vibrating one foot at a time in the shallow waters, stirring up the muddy sediments, probably trying to force its prey into breaking cover (watch the video here). By the rate at which it was dipping its beak into the waters to grab fish, the shake-a-leg seemed to be yielding rich dividends!
Just then a white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) swooped down into the water close to the egret’s feet, dipping its beak in the water – obviously looking to grab a bite for itself – and quickly returning to a perch on a low branch of a tree immediately to our left. This was repeated a few times and the egret did not seem to mind. It was at one of the last such passes that I broke out of the trance and managed to get this one click before both birds decided that they had had enough (of us or the fish, we could not tell).
The live lesson in commensalism with the kingfisher using the egret as its personal beater had made our day and we began walking up the road to the New Zealand Hostel debating whether a free lunch did indeed exist in nature!
[Framed: A commensal relationship between a little egret (Egretta garzetta) and a white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) at Lotus Lake, Aarey Forest, Mumbai]
– Narendra Nayak © 2021
Nice observation, even with the hasty photo
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Thank you, Sir!
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Wonderful series!
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Thanks a lot, Jyothi!
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Great post! Your account of Aarey forest took me back some 40 years, when going to Aarey meant a picnic and cold milk smells all around. Loved reading about the birds, am saving this post for another, more leisurely, read. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you so much, Jaya; I am delighted that you enjoyed reading it. You said it; Aarey has a niche in my heart too – the Dairy, Modern Bread, Guest House, Chota Kashmir, the path to SGNP – all have a treasure trove of memories. Staying within walking distance from the forest for nearly 50 years now, I have seen it change quite drastically over the years. Hope all the socio-political issues get resolved and the next generation too gets to enjoy what is left of this green preserve!
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Hope so, too. My memories are from 1978 and a little earlier, so some of the names you mentioned are also unfamiliar. Keep sharing!
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Sometimes a less than aesthetically perfect photo still is the right photo. Being able to document such behaviors is important, and interesting for people who haven’t witnessed those behaviors themselves. I recently noticed a killdeer stirring the water in that way; I knew that some of our ibis and other birds do it, but that was new. As for commensal feeding, that can provide some real entertainment!
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Thank you, Ma’am, for your encouraging words, and for sharing your wonderful experience! 🙂
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Dear Narendra,
Thank you for sharing your lovely bird encounters and interesting observations about commensal feeding. Your photos of the egret body topped with an entire kingfisher as its head is reminiscent of mythological beasts. How fortunate you and junior were present to see such an uncommon creature. 😊
Wishing you more uncommon discoveries,
Tanja
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Dear Tanja,
It delights me, as always, to read your kind comments. Whatever the providence be of having witnessed this mythical creature (ha ha ha), it does bother me a bit what expression the egret had put on that I missed capturing! Thank you for your encouraging words. 🙂
Further, let me be upfront about my laziness at commenting upon your beautiful post about your hometown of Rheinhessen. I was pleasantly stunned by the sheer beauty of the region and your narrative (I read it twice to assimilate it well). And now that hopefully in a few years time (fingers crossed) Junior should head to Germany for higher studies, I am positively salivating…
Regards,
Narendra
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I’m glad I made you chuckle, Narendra. And I’m glad you enjoyed my summary about my native region Rheinhessen. How exciting that your son might be studying in Germany. It will be your opportunity to go visit!
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Well captured photos and greatly stated the egret stirring the water for preys.
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Thank you so much, Suni!
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