Sunday 1 January 2012

The 11 Types of Birdwatchers

A tribute to the birding community, which comprises of truly wonderful people, and of which I am a proud member.




Birders are indeed an interesting bunch to hang out with (include me in that too!) One outing with a bunch of binoculars-carrying avian aficionados and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I personally, have met (and even been) some of these types!

So, which type are you? :)

The compilation is available as a poster. Send me an email to order your print or click here to buy the poster from my Redbubble store.


Creative Commons License
This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

108 comments:

  1. This is awesome! I have been through most of those phases!

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  2. Superb one Rohan...

    Wishing you and all your followers a very happy and healthy new year....

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  3. thanks so much Mr. Singh and GT :) Happy new year

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  4. Brilliant :)

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  5. too good... Deepa shared this and I can't stop grinning :)

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  6. Awesome Rohan!!! Still laughing about it.....Must have gone through all these phases many a times ....next time I will be more cautious before opening my mouth during the nature trails...:-)

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  7. Too good.. :) Thanks, to Deepa for sharing and I completely agree with Geetanjali.. :)

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  8. This was brilliant. Spot on. So astute. :D

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  9. Awesome - each one, esp hearing the Chui Chui from central India of the bird in Ladakh :) Happy great year!

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  10. Fantastic one! Would like to get a poster of it...

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  11. Nice... I feel most of us are bits of each type listed here in different proportions!

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  12. Yashodhan Bhatia2 January 2012 at 08:27

    Every frame is a 'Class Apart', made with such dexterity. Its so touching...i believe most of us have passed thru this, directly-or-indirectly.
    Would like to have this compilation in print/poster form. Please reply back.

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  13. This is awesome... enjoyed a lot

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  14. thanks everyone for the overwhelming response! glad that birders could relate with it :)
    those who want to order the prints, kindly send me your email id's on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com . i will get back to you with the details asap.

    stay tuned for more!

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  15. Wow ! Awesome one to introspect . Though more of a bird photographer ...TYPE 7 , I have seen the other types too . I can now categorize them similarly in my contact list ;)

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  16. whoa!
    This is just brilliant!
    you've earned yourself a follower!
    Keep them coming!

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  17. Dr Ketan Bavishi2 January 2012 at 15:48

    Thanks Jaidev..................

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  18. This is pure genius! I can relate to all the types, but the exaggeration is just side-splittingly hilarious!

    Happy 2012 and keep up the great work!

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  19. Thanks a lot Gowri! glad you could relate.
    A very happy new year to you too :)

    Thanks Santosh and Kanika!

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  20. Good one.. :D

    I like the cartoon part too...

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  21. Terrific! Just loved this post. Thanks for sharing it with all.

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  22. Awesome...I cud recognise a few types...:)

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  23. Oh man, just can't stopping laughing... especially Pink-headed duck" cartoon :-)

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  24. thank so much drtaher, upasana, subramanya, praveen and neil

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  25. Hilarious! I could relate each type to different birders I know. Still couldn't find my type so I see scope for more work in this line... ;)

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  26. This is amazing and outstanding work Rohan!
    Great stuff and really compliment the funny bone and the creative artist in you!!

    Look forward to more.

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  27. thanks a lot, hershal and nikhilesh :)

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  28. Absolutely brilliant Rohan...Loved it!!

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  29. Brilliant...i bet you are the premier nature-related cartoonist in the country now. Keep it going. I like the "Rocket-tailed" the most, heard that one last week!

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  30. Thanks a lot Preethi and Mohanram!

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  31. Hahahaha I know where the Racket-tailed Drango comes from! Good work Rohan..... If I ever get into serious birding or go out with serious birders, I resort to the type 10. Its fun to harrow the type 3,4 and 8 types of birders by being a type 10.

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  32. Wonderful - couldn't stop laughing!

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  33. Ha ha ha ... thanks for making my morning and my day.:) Have a fantastic 2012...:)

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  34. Shardul, I totally agree with the 'harrowing type 3,4' part :D thanks a lot. glad you enjoyed it. Thanks Jeyoou and Tharangini. A very happy new year to you too :)

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  35. these can be printed on T-shirts which can be worn especially on bird-watching trails...

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  36. thanks butea, aishwarya, narayan and pratibha :)

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  37. hahhaha...you will have to invent a type 12 too, Rohan! all i do is listen, nod, look, say 'wow', listen and then tend to forget the names after i am home! :( :P
    happy 2012 to you! look forward to more this year :)

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  38. hehe :) thank you for the new year wishes, cryptic crow. same to you

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  39. Thank you Silvia. This was a parody on the birdwatchers you usually see in India. I don't know if people from other countries can relate to this..

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  40. hi! loved your cartoons.. you are one of those few people i have come across who takes their two completely different and unrelated interests and make something really special out of it.. u must be really passionate and witty.. keep them coming!!

    -a comics junkie

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  41. Thank you 'comics junkie'! You are very generous :) Stay tuned, there's a lot more coming up.

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  42. ROFL, Rohan, "Rocket-tailed Drango" brought back memories... lol!

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  43. I'm not a birder, but I'm around birders a lot, and you've nailed it. You may have missed a few typologies:

    "The Contra": While the entire group is looking at an amazing species in one direction, they will be looking carefully into a tree, either hoping to spot something totally contra, or claiming later to have actually done so. (And on some rare occasions, actually doing so!)

    "The lens gazer": This is the birder who never actually spots the bird with their naked eye. They move from binoculars to camera with such focus (pun intended) that they manage to spot, photograph and ID the bird from the picture, but all without actually seeing unframed by a lens.

    "The skeptic": They are always the last to believe that there was actually a bird to see, and then when they have no choice but to admit it, they argue about which one it is.

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  44. Thank you Vinhang, Dhaval and shortindiangirl. Thank you for your views :)

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  45. Excellent work. Have encountered most of these species...

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  46. I'm probably Type 5 and can think of many birders falling in other categories. Enjoyed these cartoons. Will be looking at more done by you.

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  47. This one makes me keep coming to ur blog too often....might have been passed through all these phases.....but can't stop laughing at it....always...keep them coming....

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  48. Terrific, Rohan. Loved them....Sanjay Sondhi

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  49. Thank Titli :) did you just try to 'tag' someone in your comment o BLOGGER? :D

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  50. Seeing these again today for a refresher and also sharing them on Indian Birds FB group.

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  51. Haha.....very amusing....but how come ...there isn't a category on twitchers??

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  52. haha.. quite interesting..!!!

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  53. Superb, leading birdwatching groups and birding over 3 decades in different cities and countries is a nice experience which you have summarized in these wonderful cartoons. I would say they are all the same types in almost all the places I have been.

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  54. Thank you! I am glad you could relate :)

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  55. Hey Rohan, could you check your email? Do reply! Thanks...Jayanthi (jeyoou@gmail.com)

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  56. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  57. Dear Rohan,

    Though my compliments is rather late in the day....I must congratulate you for having an astute understanding of this peculiar breed of homo sapiens called bird-watchers. I have had personal experiences of meeting your 11 types and was shocked to realise that I could easily be 'classified' as "THE LINNAEUS", thanks to a masters degree in Zoology and being a Biology Teacher.I felt elated and humbled by your caricatures. Your caricatures are shockingly close to the truth and helped me poke fun at myself. Whenever us 'bird-watchers' come together, our favourite past-time, other than talking about birds is to try and 'classify' each other according to your absolutely accurate 'system of classification' with hilarious effects. I must add a caveat that not every bird-watcher will accept the classification, especially "THE CLASSIC VETERAN" type.

    Thank you for everything Rohan.

    With affection,

    Rajesh Santhanam

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  58. Thanks Mr. Santhanam. I am very glad to receive your very encouraging remarks and I hope you will keep dropping by to read more of my cartoons :-)

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  59. Definitely want a poster. Tell me how
    Sujan Chatterjee

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  60. The details in each jest is simple and apt - had a good laugh!

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  61. Hw true are these. It has subtly explains different class of birders. Excellent humour. I need poster of it.

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  62. Hilarious. Only a birder can describe these types.

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  63. Honestly .. this is one heck of an article i wud say.. njoyed each and every inch of it.. i have gone through it and found many actually to be one among them and i did realised it only now.. LOL.. as someone said above.. i better watch my mouth b4 uttering something insane , knowing that somebody is actually watching us doing all this nonsense .. LOL

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  64. Rohan - i need a poster of it.. pls let me know wht do i need to get one :) ?

    Cheers
    Mano

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  65. Thanks a lot everyone :) Dilbarmano, you can send me an email on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com mentioning your complete postal address and the number of prints you want.

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  66. Nice one! p sI'm a juvenile, but i don't dress and talk like that :P I'm type 10 i guess?

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  67. I'ma type 11 at times for sure :P

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  68. Awesome Bro... beautifully crafted meanings...

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  69. Just awesome....and great humor...I know all these types and i am also many of them...

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  70. type 2 gave me the biggest smile ..n still smiling. What an observation...

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  71. Great and thanks for this eye opener humor.

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  72. Hilarious, esp. 3,5,6, and 8! Rocket-tailed drango is a real gem!

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  73. Awesome compilation! Just loved it.

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  74. eyes were full of tears ... b'cause I was laughing too much :-D :-D

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