Birds in Sanskrit Literature hooting Owls. पेच or पेचकर again, is a hooting Owl (पेचक: के हेमचन्द्र ) and if from root , 'to burn or bake' the name may well refer to the darker coloured birds like the Brown Fish-Owl, "a large heavy brown" bird and the Indian Great Horned-Owl described as "a large dark brown owl" (Salim Ali ). The name कुलाल (को भूयां लालयति शावकान् ?, cf. कुलाली शकुनिका, Art. 40), on the other hand refers to the habit of laying the eggs and bringing up the young on the bare ground which is characteristic of Scully's Wood-Owl, the Himalayan Brown Wood-Owl and a couple of others. There is yet another classification of these Owls with respect to the presence or absence of ear-tufts. The Wood-Owls have no tufts on their large round heads and they are the gs of the Mahabharata, cf. कुम्भवश्वस्तु कुम्भक: M. Bh. 9.45.75:- "हृत्वा पिष्टमयं पूपं कुम्भोलूकः प्रजायते" 180 13.111.101. One may well ask, what exactly is the connection between and the Owl? g is a pan-cake made from batter prepared with some flour. and the cake on being fried in oil or ghee assumes a brown colour and is pitted all over in a lighter shade, thus resembling the mottled plumage of the bird, and hence the propriety of the sentence on the person guilty of stealing the cake. M.Bh. 14. Other members of the group possess long pointed ear-tufts which emerge outwards in a curve from the head. These are the Fish-Owls and the Horned-Owls one of which, said to be a resident of the Himalayas and given the fully descriptive name of T, is mentioned in the Mahābhārata as a long-lived bird अस्ति खलु हिमवति प्रावारकर्णनामोलूक:- 3.199.4. The section of da, on the other hand, mentions the Crow-killing species of Owls, their king af and the latter's minister STO. Now as there is only one particular species of Owl in India, the Dusky Horned-Owl, that kills and eats Crows, the very apt name of To belongs to it. There is also a clear reference to the Crow- killing habit of this Owl in the Ramayana. When after a break with रावण, विभीषण goes over to Rāma the latter's ally सुप्रीव warns him against the Owl-like tactics of the enemy:- "निहन्यादन्तरं लब्ध्वा उलूक इव वायसान् ।" 6.17.19. Again, was after seeing this Owl work havoc among the Crows at night that a determined to kill the e's while asleep during the night (M.Bh. 1.2.296), and the Epic gives us an interesting description of the bird:- 1. I believe it is possible to deduce the meaning of 'the brown colour', the colour of charred or burnt material, in a secondary sense from the root q to bake or burn (M.W.). Other Owls "उलूकं घोरदर्शनम् महास्वनं महाकाय हर्यक्षं वधूपिङ्गलम् । सुदीर्घघोणानखरं सुपर्णमिव वेगिनम् सुप्ताञ्जधान सुबहून् वायसान् वायसान्तकः ॥” M.Bh. 10.1.36 The re, the powerful Bearded Vulture:- also relates the above incident and calls the Owl after 181 "ततोऽपश्यत्समायातं भासं द्रौणिर्भयंकरम् क्रूरशब्दं क्रूरकायं बभ्रुपिङ्गकलेवरम् ॥ स भासोऽय भृशं शब्दं कृत्वालीयत शाखिनि सुप्तान्काकान्निजघ्नेऽसौ अनेकान् वायसान्तकः" || ब्रह्मखंड, सेतुमाहात्म्य, 31.44-45 We have, therefore, Taor - for the Fish-Owls and Horned Owls as a group, and वायसान्तक-उलूक or भासोलूक for the Dusky Horned Owl. for a kind of Owl in M. W. may be one of these (cf. above), or the name, more probably, refers to the next bird, the महाकौशिकः 15. The magnificent Forest Eagle Owl (24") is one of the largest and the most powerful members of the entire family. It is dark brown above and fulvous barred dark brown below and wears long dark brown aigrettes. like its cousin, the Great Horned Owl. The feathers on the face are bristly and the tarsus is fully feathered. It breeds in the outer Himalayas in the North and in the forests of the Nilgiris and Malabar in the South. It is bold and daring like an Eagle and preys much upon the same kinds of birds and animals as an Eagle does. "As soon as it is twilight it sallies off after its prey and when hungry does not hesitate to hunt by daylight. For this purpose it quits the heavy forest and takes to the open country, light scrub and bamboo jungle, or thin deciduous forest. This Owl is certainly the boldest of all Owls. It preys constantly on the largest pheasants, jungle-fowl and does not hesitate to attack pea-fowl...saw one feasting on a big civet. cat which showed by the marks that it had been killed by the bird. The power of its grip is extraordinary and it will drive its claws half deep into the leg or arm of a man. The usual note is a very deep mumble, and when, as was often the case, a pair perched on my house-roof at night, the noise sounded just like two old men conversing in very deep tones. It also has a loud caterwaul-a single note very seldom used but very piercing. It eats fish, snakes and monitor lizards as well as game etc. and inch 1. The sources of adnouns like पोरदर्शन, हरिलोचन, and क्रूरराविन् of the lexicons for an Owl are perhaps to be found in these passages. The Dusky Horned Owl has been compared to because of its very pale grey plumage resembling that of the Bearded Vulture. 2. Also a call of "two soft but resounding booms at about 3 seconds interval and nudible from a great distance"-Smythies. Hence the Hindi name of gg for it.
