Narcissism is not a monopoly of man

A bush stone curlew's picture in Australia went viral on internet because it kept on looking at its own image for hours together. This is proof enough that birds can as well be narcissistic like people who do not feel tired of staring at their own pictures. Self adoration at some point of life gets the better of people's sound judgment. Sure enough, people are not likely to be fond of their images in their old age when they look haggard, with cheeks sunken and skin loosened. Most likely it is the time of youth when even the not so enviably good looking persons would think they have something appealing in them. People at all ages however try to maintain as trim and good a look as possible. A whole trimming and make-up industry has developed in order to make people attractive to others.

The poor curlew is not fortunate enough to have its beauty enhanced by application of extra potion and lotion. It has to rely on what it is born with -its feathers and colour combination, which unfortunately are not highly remarkable. However, as a natural gift, the bird receives some extra toning in the breeding season.

One explanation offered by ornithologists is that the indigenous Australian bird is nocturnal and finds little opportunity to see other birds let alone its own image. So when it somehow came to see its image reflected on a window pane, it got fascinated with the image. Whether it was self adoration of narcissistic order is not quite clear. But if another Aussie gentleman's experience is not exaggerated, the bird's preoccupation is nothing short of narcissistic.

Another curlew most likely by chance happened to visit outside a man's office. The avian interloper instantly fell in love with the image that crossed the glass that acted like a mirror. For a month the bird visited the office to gaze at its own image and went away at night. But then the man had to cover the glass so that it gave no reflection of any image.

If a bird displays as much love for its picture, it surely has something common with human beings. Or can it be that it wonders what the one looking out of the glass or mirror was! Whatever it may be, the fact is that the bird is intelligent enough to toy with some ideas within its head. Or else, it could not have spent hours to do so.

Curlew may not be the only avian creature to develop a fascination for itself. There are other birds and animals that are likely to react in a similar manner. However, some of the aggressive and ferocious animals react quite differently. They howl and try to attack the image thinking that it is an adversary they are confronting.

In an age of selfie, though, there is nothing to wonder if animals and birds borrow some human traits for emulating. A generation seems to be in selfie fever like posting 'likes' on the facebook. How insensitive members of the social media can be is best illustrated by the fact that many of them post 'likes' when someone shares, for example, death of father or mother. After all, facebook members have learnt only to share 'likes' hardly anything else.

Birds and animals, on that count, are lucky enough not to handle the miracle gadgets of their own. Their simple life has little chance for transformation. Additionally, people are encroaching upon their habitats so flagrantly that their existence is in peril. They cannot afford the selfie luxury. If a curlew or any other animal happens to wander into human territory to catch a chance glimpse of its good look, there is nothing to take exception to its intrusion. Let it have a long look and spare a chuckle for its own sake.   

When an elephant or a sea lion etc learns to paint pictures with brush, they also have aesthetic sense. Animals with appreciation for beautiful things surely have the right to self appreciation as well.