Tea for Two

The male pied bush chat (Saxicola caprata) is a small, trim bird — glossy black all over but for a crisp white wing patch, rump, and lower belly. The female is a quieter, streaky brown.

It likes to be seen. It perches upright and conspicuous on the top of a low bush, a fence post or a wire in open scrub and cultivation, watching for insects and dropping to snatch them. The male sings a bright, whistling phrase from these exposed perches — one that old field guides transcribe as “we are tea for two.”

Driving by the tea plantations in Munnar, spotted this little guy. Slowed the car down and took a quick one. The subject, as you see, was a practiced poser.