Bangladesh there are about 575 species of birds. About one third of them are guests or migratory birds who come in September /October and live upto February /March. The rest are domestic birds and live here to feed, breed and perish. The total number of bird species known to science as inhabiting the earth today has been estimated as about 8600. Thou the exact figure is not known.
Among all kinds of birds we know very few of them. They are indeed far to many to be named and described in detail. The most familiar, but the least liked, bird in Bangladesh is the crow. It is a bird of prey. It is very cunning. Very often it enters our rooms and steals away whatever it can peck at. It annoys us with its harsh voice which is associated in the popular imagination with death. Though it looks black and has a thievish nature it is useful to us. Because it feeds on dead animals and all sorts of rotten things and thus helps in keeping the place clean.
Of others plundering birds like the kite, the seagull, the hawk and the kingfisher are noted for their notoriety. They have keen eyes, sharps claws and nails and a sweeping nature. They swoop down upon their prey and carry in away. The crested serpent eagle is a large strong bird of prey of the falcon family with a very good eyesight. It has dark brown raptor with a prominent black and white nuchal crest. It is seen in pairs soaring in wide circles high up in the heaven. The kingfisher and the seagull are beautiful birds. The kingfisher is said to be painted red with the blood of fish. It lives in mud holes near the rivers and ponds.
The pigeon, the dove, the snipe, the heron, the bittern, the partridge, the teals and many others are the game birds. The dove is a mild bird. It may be called a song bird as it is also noted for its songs. The pigeon is a small pet bird. The snipe, the bittern, the heron and the teals are found in the marshy places. These birds are called game birds as they are hunted and killed for food or sports.
There are hundreds of song birds in our beautiful land. The cuckoo is the most popular of them. It appears with the coming of spring. It leaps from branch to branch and attracts us by its sweet melodious music. It doesn't make its own nest. It lays its eggs in the nest of a crow. The parrot, the mynah, the chandana, the shyama, the doel and the shalik are also the popular singing birds. The parrot has an attractive look. It has green feather, a red beak and a slender body. It has wonderful power of imitating human speech. The mynah is black bird with a yellow ring on its throats. The doel is the national bird of Bangladesh. It is the most popular of the whistling birds. It whistles as the swallow does or as the bulbul sings. But the birds which easily endear themselves with their melodious and yet human cry are those whose names are synonymous with the sound they make --- chokh galo and "bou kotha kao". These two birds are the sweet savour of romance.
There are some other common birds which deserve special mention. The tuntuni, the babui and the swallow are called tailor birds because they show great skill in weaving their nests. All these birds are small in size but very beautiful to look at. Among them the babui builds its nest very high by means of long thread like grass or leaf. It is a remarkable architect. The sparrow is a very small bird. It is tremendously active and alert. It makes its small nest in cosy buildings and flaps in and out at will. Though it is harmless it chirps the hole day around us.
The owl is also a common bird. It is a bird of ill omen like the crow. It voice is grave. It shrikes at night. It doesn't come out in broad daylight. Again the vulture is a common bird. It is impressive in size and destructive with its talons. It feeds upon the flesh of the dead animals and is nature's scavenger in the countryside. It can sight a carcass from the dizzy height in the sky and sometimes collide with aeroplanes. But it is dying out. The crane is a large bird with long legs, neck and beak. It is normally seen in pairs, occasionally accompanied by one or two young.
So birds are numerous, conspicuous and widespread. In Bangladesh they range impressively from the huge cranes to the tiny humming birds like tuntuni from the grandeur of the golden eagle to the twittering charm of the sparrow. Some are found throughout the year and some are seasonal birds. Birds are a great wealth to our county. They help to pollinate, disperse seeds and increase the fertility of land. About 70% of birds are insectivorous. So we should try to preserve it from indiscriminate hunting. It is our moral responsibility to help them to survive.
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