256 पारावतध्वनिविकूजितचारुशृङ्गः । अभ्रंकषैः सितमनोहरचारुरूपः ॥ मत्स्यपुराण, ch. 180 The blue-grey of their bodies and the iridescent purple of their necks taken together has offered an excellent comparison for the smoke arising out of sacrificial fires : ऋषीणामग्निहोत्रेषु हृतेषु विधिपूर्वकम् । कपोताङ्गारुणो धूमो दृश्यते पवनोद्धतः ।। Birds in Sanskrit Literature रामायण, 2. 119, 6. The behaviour of the cock-bird during courtship has been beautifully described :- स्मरसमरसमयपूरितकम्बुनिभो द्विगुणपीनगलनाल: (पारावतः) सुकान्तकान्तामणितानुकारं, कूजन्तमाघूर्णितरक्तनेत्रम् प्रस्फारितोन्नम्रविनम्रकण्ठं, मुहुर्मुहुर्न्यश्चितचारुपुच्छम् ॥ आर्यासप्तशती, 597 नदत्पारावतैः श्वेतैश्चकोर: कलकोकिलः राजहंसमयूरश्च सदा रम्यः स पर्वतः ॥ 8. Of the Wood-Pigeons the Eastern Wood-Pigeon or Ring-Dove is common in Kashmir and Nepal, and extends into the Punjab in winter. An allied form, the Ashy Wood Pigeon, occurs in Nepal and in Eastern Himalayas. The former wears a broad semi-collar of buff (dull yellow or yellowish-orange) glossed green or purple-copper, and the latter a similar but narrower collar. Sanskrit means a gold crnament or necklace as well as Pigeon or Dove. The bird meant, must, therefore, seem to wear a yellowish collar and this requirement is fulfilled only by these Wood Pigeons and they are probably the रुचफ पारावत. 1. M. Williams and the Medini Kosa. 2. Padma Purana-Uttarakhanda. Ch. 221. 20-21. कुमारसंभव, 9.2. 9. The Snow Pigeon has a dark Grey head and neck, a white collar, light brown upper parts, white lower back, a broad white band on the tail and a pure white breast changing to dove-grey on the abdomen. It appears white when high up on the wing. It is a bird of the higher Himalayas but is found in Kashmir and Nepal. Pilgrims to the Amarnath cave which contains a "frafer" often see these Pigeons, and a pair of them is said actually to live in the Cave itself. They are less shy than most Pigeons and are sometimes trapped in Nepal for the Calcutta market. As the bird. has much white in its plumage and also looks white during flight, the mentioned as a Himalayan bird in the Padma Purana can only be this bird : Pigeons and Doves 257 It is to be noted that the author is referring to wild birds so that the Mayura stands for Mayūra-Kukkuța, the beautiful crested Impeyan Phea- sant or Munal. The place is evidently some lake-country in the Himalayas probably in the Garhawal District which stretches right up to the Mana and Niti passes beyond Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath. C. DOVES 1. Doves are the smaller cousins of the wild Pigeons, lighter in build, more slender in form, and also dressed rather more plainly. They, therefore, go by the name of कपोत, पाण्डुकपोत or simply पाण्डु (cf. पाण्डू colour of natural wool) corresponding to Hindi पंडुक or पड़की Other Hindi names like टुटरू पुग्णी are of an imitative nature recalling the notes of some of them. or 2. The different species of Indian Doves and their Sanskrit names (to be discussed presently) are as under :- (i) the Rufous Turtle Dove कुंकुम-धूम्र कपोत. (ii) the Little Brown Dove- कुंकुम धूम्यकपोत, धूसर कपोत (?) (iii) the Spotted Dove-चित्र चित्रपक्ष-कपोत. (iv) the Ring Dove-धवल, अपांडुर-कपोत; घवलपाण्डु, (v) the Red Turtle Dove- काण, अरुण-कपोत. (vi) the Emerald Dove हारीत शुकच्छवि रक्तकण्ठ-कपोत. (vii) the Bar-tailed Cuckoo-Dove-gure nata. 3. The first four birds are members of the same genus and of these the Rufous Turtle Dove occurs in two forms differentiated as the Northern Indian and the Indian. The former breeds in Central Asia and the i Himalayas as far as Nepal and thence through the lower levels up to Sikkim, while the latter is a bird of Eastern India, and it is only during the cold weather that both forms visit the areas to the south of their respective territories. They are grey-brown suffused with rufous above and vinous rufous below and would therefore share the name of gas with the Little Brown Dove. The Hindi name for the Northern Indian variety emphasizes the rufous or are in the plumage while the name for the other, the Indian Rufous Turtle Dove, stresses the brown (,) in the body colour. As this Dove is neither a permanent. resident of the nor so common about towns or villages it does not find place in the list of birds of augury. 4. The next three Doves, Nos. 2-4, are the commonest and most familiar birds of India. The Indian Little Brown Dove, ettet in Hindi, is again a greyish-brown bird with lilac-pink on head and neck and chestnut to vinous-pink on the breast. "It is typically a bird of civili- zation, exceedingly common all round villages and towns and one of the tamest and most confidential of our Indian birds" (S. Baker in F.B.I.). It is the कुंकुमधूम्परूपोत of भट्टोत्पल and probably also the धूसर कपोत (the grey-brown
