India, April 6 -- March and April toss up a feast of flowers and fruits for creatures. The mulberry or 'Shahtoot' tree attracts birds for a fleeting period. Watching a tree speckled in raspberry red and dark purple mulberries is a delightful pastime as the winged gourmets nibble away in abandon and squabble for shares.

The resident rose-ringed parakeet is quite silent when gobbling mulberries. The flexible 'tota' effects various caterpillar-like manoeuvres in the leafy branches to get to an alluring mulberry. Birds in passage migration to the higher reaches for summer breeding also afford a glimpse. A lucky bird-watcher can chance upon the merriment of flocks of passing spot-winged starlings as it is not a very common bird of the cities....