During April and May 1983, I observed around 150 pariah kites for two months in Udaipur. I found that they settled high on trees in the evenings after sunset, facing west. But at dawn they sat facing east and gazed at the red globe of the rising sun motionlessly for many minutes.

Similarly white-backed vultures and grey hornbills, which I observed at dawn, concentrated towards the rising sun without stirring their bodies.

Twice in the jungles of Kotra I observed troops of langurs on top of trees with folded arms placed on knees, silently facing the rising sun. Many sportsmen have observed them at dawn, climbing to some vantage point and gazing towards the sun, in winters as well as summers.

If we correlate these observations with Yoga, in which to see a rising sun is a good exercise to keep the eyes healthy, we can infer that these animals and birds may also be doing the same Aasan for their eyes.

Published in The Indian Forester:

Tehsin, R. H. (1986) Are Some Animals & Birds Devotees of Lord Surya? Ind. For. 112(6): 555