K ALLOL MUKHERJEE
is a wildlife photographer
specialising in bird shots.
Find him on Instagram:
@kallol_mukherjee_
photographyS
T
Many a time I’ve tried to
capture a portrait of a
drongo among ames,
but the heat and smoke
were just too strong.
July 2020 BBC Wildlife 79
A
s winter fades towards
spring in the grasslands
of Singur, Kolkata,
farmers burn their fields
in preparation for a new
season of crop planting. As the flames
devour the land, grassland birds and
invertebrates are forced out of their
homes by the heat and smoke.
The sudden abundance of insects
does not escape the attention of the
local drongos – glossy black birds with
distinctive forked tails, common in
eastern India – which have learnt to
turn the situation to their advantage.
“I’ve been photographing birds in
India for more than seven years,” says
Kallol, “and of the roughly 600 species
I’ve observed, the crow is by far the
most adept at taking advantage of the
opportunities created by humans. But
the black drongo comes a close second.”
Attracted by the sight of the smoke
and fire, and the dry ashes swirling
in the air, the drongos approach the
scene and locate a perch nearby, where
they await not only a free lunch, but
a hot one, too. They capitalise on the
moment of escape, swooping perilously
close to the flames and darting around
with the utmost precision, to seize the
grasshoppers, ladybirds and butterflies
desperately fleeing the inferno.Too hot to handle
Kallol, however, needed to keep a safe
distance. “Many a time I’ve tried to
capture a portrait of a drongo among
flames, but I couldn’t get the shot I
wanted because the heat and smoke
were just too strong,” he says. “Wildfires
are very dangerous out in this open, dry
habitat – a strong wind can increase the
intensity of the flames or change their
course at any moment. It makes you
realise the sheer pluck of this farmland
bird, which in this shot reminds me of
the Roman emperor Nero, watching
quietly as his kingdom burns.”Outof the
fryingpan
byKALLOLMUKHERJEE 2016
Behind
the
imageKallol risked a singeing to photograph cra y
drongos as they snatch a hot meal from the
farmland ames in West Bengal.