With the snow falling on the mountain tops of the Himalayan ranges these days, hundreds of species of birds are coming on winter migration to the plain areas and the water bodies of northern and eastern parts of India. They come for six months every year and after the wintery chill is over with the advent of the Vasant, they return to their homelands. The beautiful black eyed Khanjan has also registered its arrival in Haridwar this winter. These birds have found references in the ancient scriptures and many Indian poets have used the beautiful eyes of ‘Khanjan’ to portray their heroes.
The renowned ornithologist professor Dinesh Bhatt said that the big- eyed wagtail has started reaching the plains of Haridwar and the Ganga wetlands. The literal meaning of ‘Khanjan’ is one which takes birth in skies. It is said that our saints and sages of yore used to live on the heights of the Himalayas and were very fond for nature. They might have seen hordes of these birds descending down on the plains and named them Khanjan. Out of the six varieties of the bird species, three are migratory in nature which come from the distant regions of Leh and Ladakh, Kashmir valley, Kullu Manali, Niti – Maana for spending the winter in the wetlands of Ganga riverbeds and water bodies and return after the spring arrives for breeding purpose.
Commonly known as ‘Khanjan’ or wagtail, the three common migratory species are grey, yellow and black and white. The grey wagtail is identifiable with its yellow stomach and continuous wagging of its tail up and down. It is their identification characteristic that they keep wagging their tails frequently.
For years, it was said that the migratory birds coming from Palearctic region could not cross the Himalayas and must have come crossing the crevices in the mountain ranges. But after some mountaineers affirmed that these birds had come over the Himalayas peaks the notion changed.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Dinesh Bhatt said, “The Himalayan wagtail not just migrates to the northern parts of India but they also fly down to Mumbai and southern plateau. Their memory is very sharp and they remember their migratory locations well. The gardens and areas in which they come in one season, they continue to come in subsequent years too.”
The famous litterateur and Hindi poet Maithili Sharan Gupt was so much impressed by this bird that in his epic work, ‘Saket’, he compared the beautiful eyes of Lakshman of Ramayana with the eyes of this bird.
The assistant professor of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar Vinay Sethi says, the Sanskrit scholars have mentioned the birds beautifully in their works. “Hindi poet Surdas and many others have referred to the birds in different styles, portraying them as wonders of nature,” he says.
The research students of bioacoustics laboratory of Gurukul Kangri University said while talking to The Pioneer that they are hearing the sweet chant of the grey wagtail birds these days.
“We wonder why these birds sing so sweetly during the winter when we know that they sing during the mating season which comes in the summer,” one of them said.
Notably, the bio acoustics laboratory of Gurukul Kangri University of Haridwar is one of the leading labs where study of breeding and communication of birds is studied.