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The jacana's call
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Natural and man-made factors pose a threat to the pheasant-tailed jacana
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MOST COMMONLY, I am called the pheasant-tailed jacana. In Tamil Nadu, they call me manal pura (sand dove). And the Keralites call me tamara kozhi (lotus hen). But I call myself a beauty. I may be forgiven for holding such a lofty opinion of my physical characteristics. Just look at my brown-and-white plumage, long legs, spidery toes, the oblong patch on my nape and the "black necklace" on my upper breast. You know what? My appearance changes dramatically when I put on my breeding plumage. My tail takes on the shape of a sickle and some of my feathers change into an attractive chocolate-brown colour. Am I not a beauty?
I suppose not many in Chennai think so. How else can I explain the absolute lack of interest in my existence? And those who know me and have the power to alleviate my misery, choose to look the other way. Today, natural and man-made factors have coalesced into a threat to my existence. I am a wetland bird and have therefore made the Manali and Madhavaram jheels and the Pallikaranai-Velachery swamp my home. But I see a conspiracy to evict me from my habitat. A good portion of the Velachery swamp has been alienated for development purposes. Unlike my cousin the bronze-winged jacana, I believe in the dictum `what cannot be cured must be endured.' Though development has constricted my habitat considerably, I continue to live there. But my cousin is not someone who believes in the `grin and bear it" philosophy. Over 20 years ago, he left Chennai saying `enough is enough'. He was last seen in Velachery in 1983. Naturalists have been recording the steady decline in our numbers and passing on the information to the media so that the authorities are forced to correct the situation. This is what one of them V. Guruswami has written in his field notes, "The jacanas' breeding season synchronises with the South West monsoon. When there is favourable rainfall, about 400 pheasant tails breed here. But over the last 20 years not a bronze wing has been sighted."
Sometimes I think I should follow my cousin's example. In Manali and Madhavaram, encroachment and pollution have made my life miserable. But I cannot blame man alone for my predicament. Nature has also made a handsome contribution. I need a lot of floating vegetation to build my nest on. And I subsist on aquatic insects, molluscs and vegetable matter. For these to be, there has to be copious rainfall. For years now, the annual precipitation has been pathetically low.
And as a result, my kin and I have been skipping breeding cycles. Needless to say, our numbers have dwindled. Though you may not be able to dictate terms to the rain god, you can definitely protect me from other dangers - such as encroachment, pollution and poaching. You may wonder who it is that has a fancy for my flesh. The gypsies. In Manali and Madhavaram, some of my friends have fallen to the bullets flying from their crude country guns.
I may be beautiful. But I am weak too. And I need your help.
PRINCE FREDERICK
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