Ghumakkad in Hindi means 'the wanderer'. That is what I am. On the move any time anywhere!
This blog chronicles Ghumakkad's travels/teachings/learnings around the globe as picture stories. In addition, there are Picturesque Quotes (PQs) created using my pictures. Enjoy it.
If you have also been to the places/topics described here, please feel free to add to the content.
Your comments/ suggestions are welcome.
Do you love guavas? Specially the pink variety? Yes I do. I love to pluck it from the tree and eat. As fresh as it can be.
This morning, I found someone else with an equal craze for garden fresh guavas! Not another human being but a feathered friend! Whom did I find on our guava tree? Any guesses?
A parakeet? No.
A bulbul? No.
Then what?
It was a Pale-billed Flowerpecker! A bird so tiny that it can hide inside a guava! See the picture below.
It went about doing its morning breakfast in stages. Probably, its nest was close by and it kept feeding the chicks while making rounds. From the size of the guava, the bird could feast for days. But there must be other birds sharing the guava because the next morning the fruit was gone!
Special thanks to Yella Prakash Rao for bird ID.
Benefits of Guava
In an earlier story, we had brought out the nutritional value of guavas. You may click the following link to browse the complete picture story. An extract about the fruit is also reproduced below.
Guava - A Powerhouse of NutrientsGuava is also called 'super fruit' like super cars and super bikes! It contains 4 times more vitamin C than orange, 3 times more proteins and 4 times more fiber than pineapple, 2 times more lycopene than tomato and slightly more potassium than a banana. Guava is used in treatment of high blood pressure, constipation, respiratory disorders and hypercholesterolemia. Readers may browse the LinkedIn article for further details.
Do share the observations of similar visitors to your home garden or neighbourhood. Isn't it fascinating to see Nature's myriad ways and creations?
Like the flowerpeckers, eat guava and stay healthy!
Thanks for browsing.
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ Secunderabad/ 14th December 2023
Our next caption contest features a Spot-billed Duck. It is the 67th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad. See the picture of a spot-billed duck for KBG-67 below and give it a caption.
Does it not appear to be dancing? Here is another copy without the contest banner for better visualisation of your caption.
Go ahead and give a caption for the above picture fast!
How to Submit a Caption
For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:
Leave a comment on this post
Send email to hbindia@gmail.com
Respond on the FB post
Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb
Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.
Now get going and give your caption pronto! If you feel like, you may suggest more than one caption.
For those interested in knowing more about the spot-billed ducks and other birds in our neighbourhood, you may browse our earlier story 'Celebrating Diwali with the Birds'.
Previous Contest
KBG-66, the 66th edition of Kaun Banega GhumakkadCaption Contest featured a picture of a butterfly, the Common Jezebel sitting on a lantana flower. It received 47 captions from across the globe. You may view more pictures of the butterflies in our story 'Life is like a Butterfly'. The winning captions of KBG-66 are featured in the story 'Inspiration from a Butterfly'. Two of the winning captions are reproduced below:
Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent.
Now, be your creative best and shoot your response. Most catchy captions will be the Winners of KBG-67! All the best.
Thank you all the readers for your continued support.
Stay connected, stay safe.
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 1st December 2021
Birds of same feather, flock together. We have heard this phrase in our school days. It means that people with similar interests or hobbies will come together. Like Bikers, cyclists, hikers, soccer fans, marathoners etc. Based on the observation of birds coming to feed in our bird feeder in Secunderabad, I have a different take on this phrase.
Our bird feeder is meant for small birds. Indian Silverbills feed on it regularly. We have watched with delight tens of Silverbills feeding together every morning and afternoon.
Occasionally, we have also seen Scaly-breasted munia and House Sparrow coming to feed on the same feeder. Scaly-breasted Munia and Indian Silverbill both have similar beaks- conical, pointed and tiny. Each grain of foxtail millet is split open to eat the seed and the shell is discarded. Whereas the House Sparrow also has a conical beak, slightly bigger than the Munias, but it doesn't appear to split the foxtail millet grains. It seems to eat the grain as it is. This observation can be substantiated by fellow birders. We are open to suggestions and/or correction.
Based on this observation, we are coining the line 'Birds of similar beaks, bite together'!
But biting together is not all that smooth as the following picture story tells you.
Indian Silverbills are a gregarious lot and forever active and hungry.
Look at the way one Munia has squeezed herself into the bird feeder!
A house sparrow also joins to feed. It is welcomed! Sparrow's back is to the camera.
Rain or no rain, Silverbills are always ready to feed.
Like all other beings, good weather brings pair of Munias closer!
But after a while, it is the same old story! One partner ignores the other! Read the dialogue in the picture below.
We have done multiple stories and videos on Silverbills earlier. Links to some of the earlier stories are given below:
Indian Silverbill- The Tiny Teacher - this story tells how a tiny bird like the Silverbill has so many lessons for us human beings! It also shows the grain which the birds eat.
Friendly Munias - includes video clips of Silverbills feeding together in our yard.
A picture showing nine Indian Silverbills lined up together was the subject of KBG-64, the 64th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad online captions contest.
The Contest received a total of 46 captions listed below. We thank all the readers.
Sl.
Name
Caption
for KBG-64 Contest
1
Ajai
Bhumri
इंतजार
2
Ajai
Bhumri
हमइंतजारकरेंगेकयामततक, खुदाकरेकयामतहोऔरवोआए .
3
Amandeep
Kaur
We
can socialize and gossip- Silver bills
4
AP
Sharma
We
are the sentinels!
We are elegant.
5
Avinash
Tiwari
Hum
panchi ek dal ke. Miljul ke rehte hain
6
Bharat
Ladha
Mauj
mein
7
BR
Natarajan
You
may call them Silverbills but the memories they leave everyday are golden
indeed
8
Deepak
Jena
Being
glamorous is not a crime.
9
Deepak
Jena
Never
underestimate the power of trust.
10
GB
Sethi
Joint
Family!
11
GR
Sreenivasan
Yet
another manifestation of divinity in the form of this quaint species.
12
Jaishankar
Navratna
13
Jawahar
L Gupta
Doh
teen char hogai naon. Jab Ek saath udenge toh kar dengue dooseron ke pao
barah
14
J
Ramamoorty
Hum
Panchi ek deal ke
15
J
Ramamoorty
Nine
Silverbills waiting for Navratri festival to start
16
Lekha
Sistha
Inside
us all, patiently waiting, sits a tiny little adventurous bird.
17
LS
Bhargava
कतारपरबनेरहोतुम्हारीबारीजरूरआएगी।
18
Manju
Khetan
Pointed
bill but soft call! (Lesson for us human beings)
'नौदुर्गा'
appear together on silver string...happy navratra
29
Raghuraj
Bhargava
Hum
Panchee Ek Daal Kay
30
Rajendra
Singh
Let's
party at Ghumakkads Inn !
31
Rajnesh
Gossain
Ham
Panchi ek dal ke
32
Rakesh
Sharma
Jingle
Bell Jingle Bell, Jingle all the way ! Oh what fun it is to see Junta in
pandemic play !
33
Rami
Reddy
Silverbills
Twitterring "NO" to cellphone radiation
34
Rashmi
Bhargava
Hum
panchi Ek dal ke
35
Rekha
Bhargava
एकताजिवितचीजोंकीखुशीकास्त्रोतहै।
36
Ritu
Bhargava
Strength in unity
37
Rohini
Tiwari
Ek
chidiya.... anek chidiyan.....dana chugne baithi chidiyan.....🎼
38
Sandhya
Prakash
Sungazing
Nonet !
39
Sandhya
Thakre
Pearl
String
40
Shereen
Sultana
4 3 2 1...
The countdown for 2022 has begun!
41
Shibu
Tayal
Hum hai rahi pyar ke rahana apna daal pe.
42
Sujata
Das
Pretty
maids all in a row.
43
Unknown
'Nau
Durga' appear together on silver string today...
44
Vinay
Prasad
Born
with Silver Bills!
45
Vinod
Dhanuka
Social
distancing outside very close family
46
Yogesh
Verma
Munia
ki Duniya!
The Winners
The Jury has selected four winning captions listed below along with brief intro of each of the contestants.
Deepak Jena holds an MBA and is now an entrepreneur in Odisha. A keen traveller, he has won several KBG Contests. His caption 'Being glamourous is not a crime' reflects the Munia's beauty.
Parag Sharma is a former combat pilot who retired as an Air Commodore. He loves Nature and has won several KBG Contests. His caption 'We don't need WiFi to be online and shine' was unique.
Sandhya Thakre holds masters in Child Development as well as Business Management. Sandhya is a Navy spouse and has worked for community development extensively. A keen environmentalist, she loves gardening. Her crisp caption 'Pearl String' won the Jury's accolade.
Yogesh Verma is a keen hiker and photographer. A doctor by profession, he retired as a Colonel in Army Medical Corps. While in the Army he has travelled far and wide. His short caption मुनिआ की दुनिया meaning the 'The world of Munias' had an instant appeal.
We thank our Jury Akanksha Bhargava and once again congratulate all the winners of KBG-64.
Another Contest Featuring the Munias
Munias being so fascinating to observe, our Contest No. 58 had also featured Indian Silverbills. See the picture below.
The Contest received very creative captions which can be seen in the story 'Silverbill The Tiny Teacher'. Two of the winning captions are reproduced below:
Next time you observe more than one bird species feeding on same feed, do remember 'Birds of similar beak, bite together'.
We end this story with a PQ- picturesque quote on birds.
Thank you all the readers for your continued support.
Stay connected, stay safe.
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 25th October 2021
