Birds in Sanskrit Literature कोनालक as a water-side bird included in the list of प्लवा in सुश्रुत is explained by डल्हणाचार्य as " श्यामपृष्ठ श्वेतोदर:- पानीयवर्तिका इति लोके", and the कल्पद्रुकोश also defines the fer (?) as a kind of 'water-quail' or Snipe: 308 "श्वे तोदरः श्यामपृष्ठ: कोनीलो जलवतिका" i.e. the water-quail known as is dark above and white on the abdo- men. This agrees fully with the description of en and there is reason to hold that the original has been deliberately or mistakenly changed into by the scribe to make the name correspond in sense with the descriptive epithet श्यामपृष्ठ. M. Williams gives the forms कुनाल, कुणाल कोनालि, कोनील, and कोनालक as names of waterbirds. Evidently names of more than one bird and some wrong spelling are involved here. The Painted Snipe is known as ओहोचाहा (चाहा a Snipe ) in Nepal, from Sans. , Prak. a 'to descend' in reference to the bird's descent from higher to lower levels in winter (in Nepal), or from Prak. ओहोरिमं उद्गीतम् after its mellow call-notes. It is कोनेबट्टा (कोनाल-कुनाल-वर्तक) in the Singbhoom district and पानलवा (जलवतिका) in South India. Taking these with the definition in कल्पद्रु it appears that कोनील (कुनाल ) is the Painted Snipe, is the Water-Cock (Art. 58) and possibly also the Black crested Kalij pheasant (Art 55 B). कुनाल as an auspicious bird of ललितविस्तर' and कुणाल of the कुणालजातक (536) are most probably this bird. The beautiful story of the birth of Asoka's son कुणाल is given in दिव्यावदान where the new born child is named कुणाल because his eyes were as bright and beautiful as the gure bird's. That it is a water-bird is clear from the following verse :-- “हिमेन्द्रराजे गिरिशैलशृंगे प्रवालपुष्पप्रसवे जलाढ्ये । कुनाल नाम्नेति निवासपक्षी नेत्राणि तेनास्य समान्यमूनि ॥" Page 406 The mentions also a lake ga, in the Himalayas, apparently so named, as its shores abounded in these birds. In the efeafter the sweet voice of the Lord Buddha is compared with that of the bird whose deep mellow note fully justifies the comparison. The name appears to be analogous to are for the Red Munia, both being derived from the bad or coarser and good or finer reeds or grasses (g-bad, -reed or grass, and g-ara) in which they live and breed. It is also possible, on the other hand, to derive the word from ring to the soft "kone-kone-kone" notes of the Painted Snipe (Tickell). , refer- 1. Chapter 5,44; 13,186 and 21,377. 2. Pp. 405 et seq. 3. Ch. 19.357. 62 CRANES 1. The Cranes are among the largest wading birds with long bills, necks, and legs. large broad wings and short tails. They fly with the neck and legs straight out like the Storks and since they bear a superficial resemblance to them members of both the groups are often confounded one with the other. They may, however, be readily distinguished from the Storks by their graceful form, thin and smaller bills and the fact that the hind toe is rudimentary and does not touch the ground. Unlike the Storks, there- fore, they are unable to perch on the trees. Another radical difference between a Crane and a Stork consists in their breeding habits and the nature of the young. Indian Storks always nest on trees and the Indian Crane, the Sarus, whose habits have been well known in India, nests on ground or in shallow water. The young of a Stork are helpless and must remain in the nest until they are well able to fly, whereas the young of the Crane are active from the start like young chickens, and follow their parents. A majority of cranes have fine trumpeting calls while the Storks, having no voice clatter their bills during courtship or when excited. The former are mostly vegetarian while the latter feed on fish, frogs, reptiles and insects. No Stork or Heron (() is mentioned as a pet-bird in literature but the Common Crane and Sarus have ever been favoured as pets. It is necessary to stress these differences as the term for a Crane has often been rendered as -f (a kind of Stork or Heron) in commentaries lexicons.1 1. 2. Of the seven species of Crane described in the Fauna of British India by Stuart Baker only three are regular winter visitors to India and one, the Sarus, is a permanent resident over the greater part of the country. क्रुद्धकोच: कोंच बक इति भाषा-शब्दकल्पद्रुम. ऋचः बकविशेषः, Ibid बकभेद:--वाचस्पत्यम्. बक, बकी इति भाषा.--शब्दकल्पद्रुम कुररपक्षी-शब्दकल्पद्रम None of the older lexicons connects the with the and it is only from a very superficial likeness between a crane and a stork that commentators and compilers of present-day lexicons have fallen into the error. Explanations like the above should therefore be understood to mean 'a bird resembling a stork or heron".
