Past traditions: The 'wife talk' bird is disappearing

The Dhaka Times Desk The well-known 'Bau Katha Kao' bird of rural Bengal is about to disappear. The bird that used to woo every villager by saying 'Bau Katha Kao' at the beginning of spring is no longer seen.

Fairy tales and..

There are many stories about this yellow bird. One of them is that a farmer's wife added more turmeric to the curry one day while cooking. When the farmer returned from the field and sat down to eat rice, he beat his wife for adding too much turmeric to the curry. At one point he broke a clay pot of curry on his wife's head. The wife of the house could not bear so many insults and flew into a bird! It flies with yellow color on the whole body and black ink on the head. The bird looks like that. In different regions this bird is also known as Bene Bou. The English name of Bau Katha Kao bird is Ishadhapash Jardaphbaf Dratrashab The length of the bird from the beak to the tip of the tail is 23 to 24 cm.

How do they build nests?

They make messy nests in the bushes with dry branches and straw. Their breeding season is between spring and summer. It lays three to four white-brown speckled eggs. Female and male birds hatch eggs together in fifteen to seventeen days. They eat all kinds of insects and spiders. This melodious voice bird is slowly disappearing from rural Bengal due to environmental imbalance.

These birds are disappearing

We saw many old birds that are no longer seen. This is exactly what happened with the talking bird. Many believe that the reason for the decline of these birds is due to global climate change and excessive use of pesticides on crops, lack of old trees as nesting barriers.

Even if you go to villages, these birds are not seen as before. Kale-Vhadre might see one or two. Today it is our moral duty to save these almost extinct birds which are beautiful adornment of nature. We are now creating urban centers and losing the beautiful natural environment that reminds us of our past. Likewise, all traditions of the past are cherished and encouraged in creative work.