NCERT textbook hails rare welcome given by Valparai students to a winter migrant bird

Annual celebration of Grey wagtails' arrival in Valparai, highlighted in NCERT textbook, showcases community effort to welcome wintering birds.

As arrangements are being made to celebrate the arrival of Grey wagtails to the Valparai plateau this September, people engaged in organising the event every year are thrilled to welcome the wintering bird this time for a special reason.

The yearly welcome given to the bird, which goes by the name Sambal vaalatti in Tamil, has found a mention in ‘Our Wondrous World’, a Class III textbook brought out by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for the subject ‘The World Around Us’.

Chapter six of the textbook, namely Living in Harmony, has dedicated a page under the title ‘a true story’ to hail the rare gesture given by the school students and teachers in welcoming Grey wagtails to the popular hill station in September every year.

“Grey wagtails have started arriving in Valparai this September. Arrangements are being made to welcome the birds to the hill station as in previous years. It is very heartening to see that NCERT has highlighted the welcome given to these birds in a textbook,” said G. Venkatesh, forest range officer, Valparai.

The tradition of welcoming Grey wagtails to Valparai was started by students and teachers of the Government High School at Cinchona, Valparai, in association with the Forest Department. While sweets are distributed to celebrate the arrival of the local winter migrant, students paste posters in Tamil and English across the hill station to create awareness about the bird with the support of the Forest Department and teachers.

“This year, we are planning to engage students from more Valparai schools and conduct various programmes, including a painting competition for them,” said government school teacher and avid birder K. Selvaganesh, who was closely associated with the programme when he worked in the Valparai plateau for eight years. Though currently working in a government school in Coimbatore city, he plans to attend this year’s programme at Valparai.

Predominantly insectivorous, Grey wagtails feed on a variety of insects and play a vital role in the ecosystem, according to experts. They fly down to southern parts by September and return to mountain ranges of the Himalayas in April-May for breeding.