340 Birds in Sanskrit Literature and neck are chocolate brown, the upper parts pearl grey and the under- parts white. The bill and legs are deep bright red. In winter the head and neck become white with a few dark spots here and there. It lives. largely on worms and insects, following the plough for this purpose. They also eat all sorts of grain, shoots of crops, sand cels, small fish, snails, slugs, etc. and at times young and eggs of other birds. In addition to a harsh "gek, gek" and a loud wailing "ka-yek, ka-yek" cry it also utters "long derisive though far from unpleasant ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, from which it derives its name, 'the Laughing Gull', for seemingly it laughs and no great imagination is needed to assume that its loud cries are those of real mirth." "Some observers call the sound demoniac or lunatic laughter, but writer's ears it is the joyous, buoyant, free laugh of the open sea" (Birds of America). Numbers are found together flying and wheeling backwards and forwards over lakes, jheels and the larger rivers and when not feeding they rest either on the water or sands and banks. the (3) The Brown-headed Gull (17") resembles the Black-headed but the colour of the head in summer is ashy-brown instead of chocolate-brown. The bill and legs are deep red. In winter the head turns white. It visits the plains of Eastern India during the winter and its habits and voice are stern Indio dui. those of the Black-headed variety, following the plough for insects and worms brought up by the ploughshare. (4) The Yellow-legged Herring Gull (23" to 25", wing-expanse 58* to 60") is, like the Great Black-headed Gull, a large bird with white head, neck, tail and underparts, and a dark slaty-grey mantle. The bill and legs are bright yellow. Its call notes are similar to those of the common Herr- ing Gull, described as a loud and raucous series of "cack-cack-cac-cac-cac- cac; or sometimes a querulous scream, kuh-r-e-e-e-c, kuh-r-r-e-e-e-e-e-ah, mingled with cluckings and subdued hen gobblings" (Illus. Ency. of American Birds). Like others they are omnivorous scavengers and in
- Sanskrit lexicons mention (i) the white (te or far), (ii) the red (),
and the black () varieties of Rape-seed or Mustard (r) corresponding to Brassica Alba, B. Juncea and B. Nigra or Napus respectively but not the yellow (a) variety. A fourth variety is however mentioned by the name of a defined as grafer (of the colour of the feet of the bird) with (coming up naturally with the rains i.e. self-sown and therefore wild) and fire (not dying out, hence the same preceding). Now the variety Brassica Campestris, the yellow Rape-seed, though cultivated, grows wild in North India and is known in Hindi as tarer. It is, therefore, submitted thar देवसर्षप (cf. देवखान) is this yellow Rape seed and कुरर in its descriptive the Yellow-legged Herring Gull or the synonym, grafEET, is no other than Great Black-headed Gull having yellow feet. No other bird sharing the name (poetic for ) has been rendered as aufang, page 248. The synonym has really yellow feet. "fift" 'उत्क्रोश भार्या' in the commentary on gift given there is however incorrect. Gulls 341 addition are experts in breaking hard and soft clams. These they pick up from the shore in their feet and drop them on hard ground or rock from a height of 50 to 60 feet for the contents. They are coastal birds of Western and North-West India but straggle far inland to the larger rivers and lakes as far North as Kashmir and East as Cachar in Assam. 5. The ancient Indians had evidently noticed the similarity of physical features, close association with the water, and the noisy habits of both the Gulls and Terns and regarded them as closely allied forms, so much so, that they named the former (from roots , For make a sound: कौति, कवते, कुरति—कुररः) and the latter कुररी as if the former, with their heavier build and greater dash, were the males and the latter, with a graceful form and finer discrimination as to food, were the females of closely allied. species. It is also probable that with Gulls named as the smaller Terns were distinguished as कुररी on the principle, “स्त्री स्यात् काचिन्मृणात्यादिविवक्षापचये यदि" - अमरकोश, 3.5.7; c.g. we have वर्तक for the larger Common Grey Quail and af for smaller Rain Quail (Art. 55). Some of the Sanskrit lexicons mention only three birds sharing the name , viz., the Osprey, the Demoiselle Crane () and 'a kind of Eagle' (sce w and M. W.).* Both and place in their lists of 'Birds of Prey' (gr) for the Fishing Eagles including the Osprey, while both have 3 (very noisy) in the lists of 'Water Birds' (ar) for the noisy Gulls. But as both the Fishing Eagles and the Gulls are very noisy the terms and have been treated as synonymous both in literature, particularly Pali literature, and the lexicons. M. Williams' rendering of as 'a sca-cagle' is cer- tainly correct but it is not so on the authority of as we have just seen. The earliest homonymous equation for these noisy birds, barring of course the D. Crane which is a but not , but including the noisy Terns and the Curlew is "उत्क्रोशकुररौसमौ" of अमरकोश. The अभि. चिन्ता expressly includ es the Fishing Eagles and Osprey in the extended synonymy: "ak मत्स्यनाशनः कुररः", while the कल्पकोश includes the Terns and Curlew also with- in it:- (a) अथोत्क्रोशः स्त्रियां पुमान् कुररः खरशब्दः । (b) उत्क्रोशो मत्स्यनाशनः । (c) कुररो (? कुररी) जलकुक्कुटी । The first equation includes उत्कोश- उत्क्रोशी and कुरर-कुररी (cf. कुछ शब्दे, कवतीति कुरर: स्त्रियां तु कुररी-फातंत्रीय उणादि) as homonyms applicable to several different birds possessing a harsh voice (खरशब्द); the second to उत्कोश (=कुरर) as noisy fish- killing birds; and the third to g or as a noisy bird resembling a
- पा. स. म. renders कुरर as उत्क्रोश and कुरल;
कुलल (the same as कुरल, कुरूर ) is equated with (i) fishing Eagle), (iii) Frit, and (iv) a Cat. and कुररी as the female of कुरर, but पक्षिविशेष, (ii) गृधपक्षी (pointing to the श्रुतसागर सूरि, commentator of यशस्तितक चम्पू, renders क़ुरर as जलकाक at page 144 and the bird meant is no doubt a Gull.
