330 Birds in Sanskrit Literature rite for hawking and is mentioned by the name of तृणबहिन् in the श्यैनिक शास्त्र :- "नैकघा वाजिना सोऽयं तृणबहिया हतः ।" – 7.12. It is also probably the वारट of चरक and शावलि mentioned in the मिताक्षरा टीका on याज्ञवल्क्यस्मृति 1.175. Both these names evidently refer to the habit of the bird frequenting grass covered plains 12. The Lesser Florican or Likh is the smallest Bustard known, and is in form and general colour a fairly accurate miniature of the larger Florican. The cock in breeding plumage has neither crest nor hackles on the neck or breast but from each side of his head, behind the ears, spring a number of long feathers, and three of these on each side are the longest "sometimes reaching as much as five inches in length, and generally exceeding three and a half inches. As a rule, the three longest feathers are graduated, and though in some cases they are subequal, three is nearly always a great difference in length between these three feathers and the others, which may vary between one and two inches. These feathers, more specially the longer ones, are spatulate in shape". Evidently, therefore, the total number of such feathers is not less than five on each side. The illustration in The Indian Waders by Finn shows five, two small and three long. 13. One of the different kinds of forceps mentioned in , 1.10 was designed after the shape of the bill of the bird f which seems to be no other than the Lesser Florican with the separated feathers of the ear tufts jutting out well behind the head. Now if one raised one's palm to cover one's ears with the fingers spread out, the latter would represent the spatulate feathers in position about the bird's head, and the pictur- esque aptness of the name aft would be apparent. The Prakrit expression "fefe" for a palm or hand with the fingers branching out offers a very good comparison. It is explained as follows:- “अन्योऽन्यान्तरिता दश अङगुलयो यत्न सा दशाङ्गुलिः तामञ्जलिम् ।" आवश्यक सूत्र, p. 188. 14. Another Hindi name for it is for which is merely a truncated form of fafafere or feaf (playing, delighting in uncultivated or grass land). Both forms of Florican, particularly the breeding males, are in the habit of constantly springing or jumping up high above the grass, as a part of their love-play to attract the hens and the name clearly refers to
- Stuart Baker, Game Birds of India, Burma and Ceylon, p. 200.
331 this habit. As however the crested bird is quafi and this bird is for in Hindi it would follow that the name though applicable to both was pro- bably reserved for the Lesser Florican. The original name may well have been ferrafer (@fe, 'a bird', i.e. a bird of the grass-land) or simply afe- 'the playful bird'; cf. for the sportive Wagtail. Bustards
