Thursday, May 30, 2024

Turquoise Reflections



How do birds engage with mirrors? Do they see in their own reflection, a rival, an encroacher who needs to be driven out, or a playmate?

Last week, in the little town of Dewathang in south-eastern Bhutan, I found myself in a small roadside lodge. As soon as I entered my room I saw something moving behind the curtains - it was this small bird with its brilliant blue plumage glinting in the evening sun. 

The last time I had seen such a bird was through a pair of binoculars. This time I was just a couple of inches away, looking through a glass-pane with a reflective film on it. The bird kept fluttering against the pane, stopping every now and then, to look intently at itself until darkness set in after sunset.

Do these birds get excited / agitated only when they are looking at reflections on the vertical plane? Are they tuned to ignore reflections on a horizontal surface such as a puddle or pool or water?

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LINKS & REFERENCES

* Verditer - from old French verd de terre - 'green of the earth'! - https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/verditer


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