Dhaka, Sept. 17 -- It was very pleasing to see two Yellow Bitterns fly back and forth at Shyampur, a few kilometres from the crowded Hemayetpur junction at Savar. Yellow Bitterns are very stealthy birds and rarely seen in the open. But over the shrinking slush of Shyampur, the bitterns - strangely - had blown their cover.

Yellow Bittern is named so because it is yellow, pale or pastel yellow. It stays hidden in the paddy, lily-pad or water-hyacinth and quietly hunts frogs, mollusks, prawns and mudbugs. For this stealthy nature, it remains an unknown bird to most of our people, even where it thrives well.

The Yellow Bittern chooses to turn orange and intrepid in the monsoon. Monsoon is the season for the bittern to be flashy, and to cour...