47
Bater escapes from Billi and escapes and escapes
Bulbul was actually chuckling because Billi
had failed to catch the jungle bush quail on each lunge. He had heard Kotwal
change his warning call to a melodious note just before Billi had jumped.
Bulbul was not sure that Billi had not understood the change in the tone of the
warning call. But even Bulbul was not certain that he knew the entire plan. How
had Bater managed to escape Billi’s lunge and move four feet away, and so fast?
Such a nervous and frightened bird, but the jungle bush quail had jumped away
with confidence at the very right moment. Was Billi presuming that Bater would
be an easy bird to hunt down because he looked so frightened and nervous?
Billi looked around, wondering how
Bater had managed to escape him twice. Was that drongo warning off the jungle
bush quail? Did the drongo think that Billi was a dumb animal? He looked around
to see if the drongo was perched at the topmost branch. He seemed to have moved
away. Now there was another bird watching him from the lower branches. It must
be that Phoolchuki, Billi thought, an absolutely useless bird to catch, for it
was a very small bird and possibly not easy to hunt. Phoolchuki was very fast
and mostly in the branches. Where was that jungle bush quail now?
Bater - the jungle bush quail - kept escaping
Billi could not catch Bater. He kept escaping easily.
[Photograph - Saleel Tambe]
There he was again, about six feet
away. How does such a frightened looking animal manage to move so fast? Billi
wondered. The jungle bush quail was looking scared. Bater seemed such an easy
target. He had better make sure that there was no mistake this time. He should
be lucky on the third time, Billi thought to himself. He looked around to see
if the drongo was around. Well, he certainly did not seem to be at the perch,
and there did not seem to be any other drongo calling out. Bulbul was at the
same perch, but at least he was quiet and he would not disturb or warn the
jungle bush quail. Only that irritating Phoolchuki was moving around in the
lower branches of the babool tree, warbling in a low voice, and trying to look
for insects. Billi moved again, crouching low, and moving very slowly.
Billi crawled for about four feet,
through the tall grass. He wanted to make sure that he could certainly catch the
jungle bush quail this time. He was only two feet away from the very frightened
looking Bater. The jungle bush quail was moving around, very nervously, one
step to the left, one step to the right, one step to the front, and running
back some steps. Billi did not even want to stop and wonder why Bater was
moving around in such a manner. He was getting hungrier and hungrier. He needed
to catch that jungle bush quail very fast. He took one last look around. The
drongo was still absent, Bulbul was sitting quietly, watching Billi, while
Phoolchuki was moving around, warbling in a low, low voice.
