As a brilliant amateur bird watcher, American diplomat Peter G. Kaestner has run up some major milestones—as a worthy for the Guinness Book of World Records for having seen the most bird species and, even better, having a Columbian bird (Cundinamarca Antpitta) named after him (Grallaria kaestneri). The Nature Group at the India International Centre recently featured “Birding Around the World,” a talk by Kaestner which was exceptionally well-attended by members of the Centre and by many nature lovers and well known bird photographers.
A brief introduction by Samar Singh, President of the World Pheasant Association, put the achievements of Kaestner in perspective. “He is a diplomat by profession and a bird watcher by passion. Is there something common between diplomacy and bird watching? In a lighter vein you could say foreign travel. But the buzzword is spotting—spotting humans and spotting birds. He has notched up a record of sorts by spotting over 8,000 bird species—a mind boggling feat when you consider that overall there are around 9,000 worldwide.”
At the outset, Kaestner pointed out that he was not a professional photographer and used a “kachcha bird camera” to document rare birds. India, he said, was the home of many excellent bird watchers and photographers, a community growing by leaps and bounds. Modestly, he asserted that he achieved distinction at a time when scientists had listed lesser number of bird families, which today are believed to be beyond two hundred.
Much of Kaestner’s talk centered on his visit to Kazakhstan (Central Asia), where he encountered birds such as water pippets, gold finches, European rollers, tits, Syke’s warblers, booted warblers, sand grouse, grey-necked buntings, crimson- winged finches, sociable plovers, black larks, black winged gulls.
Many an interesting fact came to light in the course of Kaestner’s presentation. For instance, he pointed out an unusual bird which, can be found with plumage in different colours. The male is called Ruff (Philomachus pugnax). The Ruffs are medium sized waders and can be black, chestnut, white (see image below) or purple, each with a peculiar ruff. These birds are mostly found near tidal mudflats. An Internet source defines Ruffs as having a distinctive "gravy boat" appearance, with a small head and medium bill, longish neck and pot-bellied profile. Males are larger than females. They have longish usually yellowish legs, and show white ovals on the tail sides in flight. Males are 29-32 cm long with a 54-60 cm wingspan. Breeding males grow the most individually distinctive breeding plumages of any wild bird, and recognize each other as individuals by plumage differences.
White Ruff, male
They can have black, chestnut or white "neck ruffs" and "head tufts," made up of solid, barred or irregularly colored feathers. Their backs are grey-brown and the underparts white except for the black breast. The considerably smaller females are called Reeves.
Another interesting picture was that of Short Head Larks. “We watched this bird for 10 minutes, trying to get a decent picture of it. Every two or three minutes it would come back with these giant caterpillars. It was really remarkable how efficient they were in getting these creatures while we could hardly see them,” reminisces Kaestner.
Kaestner also regaled the audience by his camera work on unique animals such as red foxes, marmet, four horned antelopes and the funny double-humped Batrian camel which loses all it hair in summer, acquiring a “weird” appearance. The photograph of the camel with only tufts of remaining hair provided a light moment with the audience in peals of laughter.
His advice for bird watchers is to locate the habitat of the birds one wants to watch. Another suggestion is to identify waterholes which often draw birds by the hundreds.
Kaestner is full of interesting stories about his pet hobby. Once, he recalls, he had more fun than he ever had in the Foreign Service. Apparently, a person by the name of Dillon Ripley (then Secretary of the Smithsonian), came out to Delhi on an official visit in 1982. His good friend, the late famous ornithologist Salim Ali came to the capital to meet him. The US Ambassador in Delhi requested Kaestner to be “sociable” and take the duo out birdwatching. The trio went to Sultanpur and found Sociable Plovers! And Kaestner had reason to be kicked. As he says, “It was a new bird for Salim Ali since he had never seen a sociable plover. It was so exciting and an honour for me to show a new bird to a personage such as Salim Ali.”
Kaestner has more bird watching up his sleeve in the near future. He will be visiting the Eagles Nest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh which is a unique bird sanctuary.
Kavita Charanji is a free lance writer and journalist, and a member of the Nature Group, IIC.
