276 Birds in Sanskrit Literature with black crests. They are always found in the neighbourhood of water. The first two occur to the West and East of the Arun river in Nepal respecti- vely, and the third further East in Assam. Prakrit (from gr) means 'black' and कोणालक (कोण + अलक) is therefore 'black-crested'. With यवालक for the White-crested Kalij is highly probable for these black-crested Pheasants. Their habitat near water would seem to justify the following reference to them though it may well be to the Water Cocks which also perhaps share the name as a homonym, i.e., through a different derivation - “नित्यमत्तविहङगानि भ्रमरैः सेवितानि च । कोणालकविघुष्टानि सारसाभिरुतानि च ॥" -रामायण or 11. The Black-breasted Kalij is known locally in Assam as which is from Sanskrit ( musk and colour; 'of the colour of musk' i.e. black or dark-brown) for a (black) Cock. As all the three Black- crested Pheasants are allied, they are in Sanskrit. 12. One of these crested Kalij Cocks figures as "agar fr" (bird with a pendant crest) in the gear, where a cock hunting cat offers to be his wife without any dowry if only he descends to her from his high perch on the tree, but the shrewd bird replies that no matrimony is possible between a two-footed bird and a four-footed animal, and finally advises her to seek another mate: "सुचित्त पत्तच्छदन लंबचूल विहंगम ओरोह दुमसाखाय मुधा भारिया भवामि ते ॥" The Cock: "चतुप्पदा त्वं कल्याणि द्विपदाहं मनोरमे । मिगी पक्खी असज्जुत्ता अञ्ज परियेस सामिकम् ॥” 13. The Koklas Pheasant has a fully feathered face and a triple crest consisting of a median anterior tuft and two very elongated lateral posterior tufts (one on each side of the head). The crest thus bears an obvious resemblance to the trifoliate leaf of the fart or tree (Butea frondosa), For see Art. 61. and the bird is no other than the पलाश (कुक्कुट) of the हिन्दी शब्दसागर. It is actually known as प्लास ( पलाश ) in Kashmir and in the neighbourhood of Simla. No Sanskrit lexicon gives the name but there can be no doubt that it was पलाश or पालाश-कुक्कुट in Sanskrit as well, and the compilers of the Hindi lexicon had the name from some manuscript glossary. The other local name कोकलास is a palpable corruption of कुस्कुटपलाश or पलाशकुक्कुट, 1. All. Edn. 6.39.11. 2. No. 383. as a Water-Cock see Art. 58 and for re as the Painted Snipe Peafowls, Junglefowls, Pheasants and Quails 277 14. The अभिधानराजेन्द्र has कृष्णतिय (कर्णचिक, under चम्मपस्थि) for a kind of चर्मपक्षिन् and if चर्मपक्षिन् has been inadvertently used for लोमपक्षिन्, and it has •certainly been so used for the जीवजीवक and समुद्रकाक, the name clearly refers to this three-crested Pheasant as कर्णविक (कुक्कुट) 15. The noble Impeyan Pheasant, "the most magnificent" of all Indian Pheasants, is common in Garhwal, Kashmir, Kulu and Kangra. valleys. It has a Peacock-like crest, a most brilliant body-plumage of metallic green, copper and purple, and a cinnamon-chestnut tail, and "when seen in sun-light the effect is indescribably beautiful". The orbital. skin and cheeks are smalt blue to brilliant ultramarine-blue. In the Peacock this area is white (fearra). From its crest and brilliant plumage, it has been regarded as a sort of small Peacock and is known in Hindi as fre or मुनाल (Prakrit for मृणाल पुष्करमूल, because the bird eats roots and tubers) and दतिया (दाति, दातम् a cutting or digging implement) after its powerful bill used for digging up roots for food. Sanskrit names for it are r (having the colours of a rainbow), a विष्किर bird of चरक; असितापाङग (having blue orbital skin); मयूरक ("मयूरप्रतिकृति" - शब्दार्थचिन्तामणि ) a little Peacock; • मयूरकुक्कुट (Cock resembling a Peacock); चित्रवर्हण or चित्रबहण (a bird with a coloured or painted tail or a peculiar kind of Peacock); and probably also मयूक (short for मयूरक ? "मयूकश्चित्रपिङ्गलः" in वैजयन्ती appears to be significant). With its "great shovel mandibles" the bird is said to be "a great digger" for tubers and roots, and for a kind of bird' in M. Williams would seem to be a descriptive epithet for it from some old lexicon; Cf:-- “कन्दानि मूलसस्यानि विदुः कन्दांश्च सूरणान्" - शाश्वतकोश. (edible It is quite probable that the Hindi name for it is from root of the lotus) as the bird perhaps digs up the tubers of ground lilies also for food, and hence the name. The terms and in the Jain refer to the Peacock and this Pheasant respectively, while the • महाव्युत्पत्ति refers to them as वहीं and मयूर or vice versa. 16. The following from the Mahabharata refer to this Pheasant as बहिण or मयूर (cf. Hindi नीलमोर) and असितापाङ्ग :- "महाद्रुमाणां शिखरेषु तस्थुः मनोरमां वाचमुदीरयन्तः । मयूरदात्यूहचकोरसङ्घाः तस्मिन्वने बहिणकोकिलाश्च ॥”–3.24.18 "मयूर: शतपत्रैच जीवञ्जीवककोकिलैः । चकोरैरसितापाचगैस्तथा पुवप्रियैरपि ॥" - Ibid. 3.108,8 1. See ibid under 'चम्मपक्खि'. 2. on the trees must be the tree-perching Hill Partridges which have a white gorget upon a dark neck as against the black gorget of the . They have, therefore, been regarded as a kind of which however is entirely a ground (beautiful or God bird. The Simla Hill Partridge is actually known as Rama's ) in Hindi, Cf. ferfra for the same with the Hindi name.
