August 9. “Button, what is our national bird?”

“The peacock.”

“Good. And what is our state bird?”

“I have no idea.”

“The green pigeon or Hariyal in Marathi. The Bombay Natural History Society is in the process of recommending the critically endangered forest owlet as the state bird in place of the Hariyal. It was thought to be extinct but was rediscovered in 1997 after a long gap of 113 years.”

“Aren’t owls very aggressive?”

“The forest owlet is less aggressive than the spotted owl.”

“Since you mentioned that the forest owl is an endangered species, how many can one find in existence?”

“That would be around 100 to 250.”

“Now look at the face of the forest owlet. Doesn’t he look like an old man?”

“With the grey moustache and eyebrows, he does. In fact, he resembles R K Laxman’s common man to a great extent.”