BIRDS do not want to be watched! Human beings love to watch birds... small and big birds. When I was in Grade I, my teacher taught us that "maya" is our national bird. Poor "maya," she was demoted as farmers' enemy. "Mayas" are sold during market days to become "adobo" or to be cruelly caged for fun.
Our national bird now is the Philippine Eagle (monkey-eating eagle or eagle-eating-monkey... have your choice). Negros Occidental will celebrate the 12th Provincial Wildlife Month and 11th Philippine Bird Festival on November 24-27 on the theme" Our Common Challenge, Protect Our Wildlife." This could be a funny reminder because many of us have already forgotten our wildlife, especially our own birds.
I want to focus on birds. I want to call small birds as birdies and big birds as lardies. To an urbanite or to those who specialize on birds, birds are creatures that fascinate. For a farm boy like me, birds are my daily companions. From house to school, we are accompanied by birds. Birds are minstrels. They sing wonderfully. They are fashion models. Their attires are in fascinating colors.
Birds make us learn something from life. They could be our models in helping us to make life meaningful. "Tamsi" (a birdie) has the colors of the rainbow. It is a "tuba" taster because it always drops in the "pasok" of a "tuba" gatherer having the sweetest taste. The "martanikos" are like fighter planes (in black with white stripe) sweeping from one coconut to the next.
The "uwak" with its solid black color is the noisiest. It could be an omen bird announcing the misfortune of men. When it is noisy, the rats are threatened. The "togtog" with its brown color is always sticking out its neck. It is hunting for early worms. The "salimbabatang," in fancy black, are like Japanese pilot divers flying their planes to hit the targets. Our birds are simply searching for mosquitoes.
Our "salaksakan" of varied colors are the guardians of the river. They are actually the fisher birds. If they are on one spot of the river, fishermen believe that fish is plenty in that area. "Sagokgok" has its brown color and could be spotted always dangling on sugarcane leaves. They are there to kill locusts and stem borers. The "tagwatihot" is the weather bird. When it is about to rain, it makes a long haunting call.
The "mayacapra" hops from one branch to another like a sexy dancer. Yes sexy, but it is there to hunt for carabao flies and water mosquitoes. The "bukaw" seems to be wise but it could only play its role well as the clock bird. During the day, it sleeps as if there is no other day. The "umbok" is the wild little chicken with meat so delicious. When I was a kid, I trapped plenty of them to be made adobo.
The "kurit" is a farmer's guide. It is small but it can be anywhere as if telling the farmer that he is not lost. "Korokokok" is the cousin of the dove. A lot of them thrive where grass bears fruit. Just like the "umbok," they could be fried at their best. Another meaty bird is "kiyaw." It dwells among the high rise "tabun-ak" grass by the river banks.
As a farm boy, I was not a saint of birds. Just like any lad growing in the farm, I have my own share of sling shot. Thanks to my Lolo Pedro who converted me to be a bird protector. "Birds remind us of God who wants all of us to be free." I buried my sling shot and vowed not to harm birds anymore. Birds belong to our world. "Orbi Unum" (one world).
We always have birds around us. We live with birds... an age of beauty, an age undreamed of. We see the birds we love as we wish them to be, not as they really are. One does not need to be an ornithologist to understand ornithology (the science about the study of birds). Just love your birds... they are your own. Happy watching!