Jungle Babblers: The Nastiest Trash Bird
Birding in a new place for the first time is exhilarating. Within minutes you can be surrounded by a quantity of lifers that would have taken months to produce in a more familiar locale. These first birds tend to have some things in common: They have little fear of humans and are well adapted to inhabiting the same spaces as them, they move in packs, and they tend to look sort of nasty. As the days wear on, the initial excitement for these first greeters gradually transforms into a jaded indifference which itself is eventually replaced by a mild annoyance as their movement distracts you in your search for a more respectable quarry. Ethan likes to refer to these species as “trash birds” and although some of them are cosmopolitan, like their most famous member, the “pigeon,” he is always possessed by a sick fascination over what new perverted fowl could become his near constant companion when he set out on a trip.
This is a Jungle babbler (Argya striata). If he looks like a nasty trash bird to you then you would be correct. Ethan photographed this fellow on his first day birding in India as he (the bird) took a (very short) break from desperately feasting on bhjua dumped on a dirty, asphalt path by an irresponsible child. He, along with his similarly nasty friends (Common mynas, House crows, and a Rufous treepie) are clearly an insult to birds everywhere and bring immeasurable shame to their dinosaur forebearers. How far the mighty have fallen.
Look at this one’s nasty, grime-coated beak and disheveled feathers and don’t even get me started on his hideous feet. The Jungle babbler is clearly among the physically nastiest of birds but what really sets them apart is their horrible personality.
You can just tell that they know how nasty they are and are immensely bitter about it. They are angry at God for creating them and they take that resentment out on the whole world. They are full of hatred for you, me, and each other, but all of that pales in comparison to the hatred that they feel for themselves.
Jungle babblers are without a doubt one of the most vile trash birds Ethan has ever encountered. They proved themselves to be a regular nuisance, creating distracting rustling by skulking in bushes, annoying Ethan with their horrible chattering, and attacking other, better birds that Ethan was trying to photograph, but after finally leaving India I suspect part of him will miss their raucous battles, constant bad attitude, and most of all, their rancorous, judgmental stare.