The Stone-Curlew

India · nature

A great stone-curlew stands very still at the edge of slow water, one large yellow eye locked on the world. A bird built for waiting.

Great stone-curlews are wading birds that don't really wade. They stand in shallow gravel beds at the edge of rivers, often on one leg, sometimes for so long that the local kids assume they're statues. Their eyes are absurdly large — almost too big for the head — and they're built for low light. At dusk they come alive.

This one was on a sandbar mid-river, far enough from the bank that I had to crop in heavily. The eye was fixed on me from the moment I lifted the camera. Stone-curlews don't startle easily — they bet on their camouflage — but they also don't tolerate being approached. I shot and backed away. The bird didn't move. By the time I crossed the river further down, it had drifted into the reeds without me noticing.

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