After watching the birds curiously for a while, it became clear that there were several other flocks just like the first that were doing the same thing--flying around as a unit back and forth around our hotel. Eventually, we saw one of the groups fly over to one of the taller buildings in the area where a man was standing. It was this man that was directing this flock of kabootar, or pigeons, with high-pitched whistles.
It would seem that the practice of training flocks of pigeons to fly and follow commands is popular in some of the Muslim neighborhoods of India. The area around the Taj Mahal is predominately Muslim, so we saw many different flocks out getting their nightly exercise. Some were quite small, but still did a great job of staying together.
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