India, April 16 -- A market landmark in fruit-bearing phase

Cacao cacao cacao. the chant is discordant, yet extraordinarily soft and musical. The source of the soaring sound happens to be one of the market trees, here in a plaza in south Delhi's New Friends Colony Community Centre. The tree stands across the lane from Nathu Sweets.

This is actually the incessant twittering of birds. The mass warble isn't slowing down for even a moment's respite. Its persuasive force is almost threatening to lift the tree up into the air. (The drone of an airplane passing by the nearby Lotus Tower tries to outrival the swelling roar of the avian orchestra, but fails).

While the tree must be teeming with hundreds of birds, it is so thickly green that not...