On this winter’s day in Rajasthan these demoiselle cranes had it easy.
The altitude was low, the weather mild, and they only had to fly for a few minutes – from a local dam to a nearby village, where food is provided expressly for them – then, back to the dam.
To reach this cranes’ paradise, however, they had to cross the world’s mightiest mountains…and as winter becomes spring they will have to fly over the Himalayas again.
Grus virgo – the demoiselle crane – is also known as the Mongolian common crane; in northern India and Pakistan it is culturally significant, and is known as Koonj.
Over the last few decades, Jains’ benevolence to Koonj has turned one otherwise-inconspicuous Thar Desert hamlet into “demoiselle central”.
At first, these villagers were attracting a handful of cranes to feast on millet grain laid out in Khichan’s central square.
Now, many thousands fly in each morning, and Khichan is a global magnet for long-lens-wielding birders.
The morning fly-in is a sight almost beyond belief, even to those of us lucky enough to have witnessed it!
(photo is copyright Doug Spencer, taken in Khichan on 20 February 2020)
Of which, more in a future post, post-pandemic…
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Humans often view animals through an anthropomorphic filter; we make them emblematic of particular human virtues or vices, we deem animals variously “noble” or “loathsome”, “lazy” or “industrious”.
Truthwise, all this says hardly anything about animals, but quite a lot about us.
Today’s song comes from the southern Siberian republic of Tuva, which regards itself as the very centre of Asia.
Huun-Huur-Tu’s 1997 album includes a traditional song which translates as Don’t Frighten the Crane.
Admiration of/ respect for animals is oft-expressed in Tuvan music.
This song describes the crane as the jewel of the marsh and bog.
The crane also symbolises the narrator’s allegedly hot-hearted lover.