352 Birds in Sanskrit Literature this and calls it by the alternative name of or scissors. Conscious of the fact that were and art were different, he was, however, misled by the incorrect synonymies of अमर and हलायुध, and equated आटी with जलवर्धनी and postulated two varieties of war characterised with long bills, one having a white shoulder and the other a red head, the first of which he called . the शरारी proper :- शरारीमुखमिति, शरारिर्दीर्घचञ्चुः पक्षिविशेषः स द्विविधः – धवलस्कन्धो रक्तशीर्षश्च, धवलस्कन्धस्य शरारीति संज्ञा तन्मुखवन्मुखमस्य तच्छरारी- मुखं तस्य शस्त्रस्य लोके कर्तरीति संज्ञा । As already stated, there is only one variety of the Skimmer in India and the red-headed bird mentioned by him is no other than the art or the Black Ibis with a red papillated head (Ast. 80). His equation "arrêt refera aferfer" also confuses between the Ibis and the Skimmer, for the name it (i to cut', and at 'a broom') means (i) 'water-cutter' and (i) 'water-sweeper' or 'water-broom', i.e. a bird that cuts the water or sweeps over it. Both these senses are perfectly applicable to the Skimmer but none of them to the Ibis. The epithet may be said to be true of the Skimmer with reference to the broad white collar it has, but if it refers to the white shoulder patch of the Black Ibis, it would be difficult to maintain a distinction between the two birds intended by the commen- tator as both the epithets धवलस्कन्ध and रक्तशीषं would then signify the Black Ibis alone. The editors of the Nirnayasagara Press editions of g have failed to understand the dual nature of the were instrument as explained by ढल्हणाचार्य and also by the statement "दशाङ्गुला शरारीमुखी या सा कर्तरीति कथ्यते । in the text itself and, falling back upon , they argue that were, as a lancet and pair of scissors, must be two different instruments, for one and the same instrument cannot perform both the operations : (सुश्रुत) वाक्येन शरारीमुखस्य वित्रावणमेव कर्मोक्तं, कर्तर्यास्तु कर्म छेदनमेव, तस्मादेतच्छस्त्रद्वयं पृथगेव भवितुमर्हति । Hārānchandra's identification of शरारि with सरल (i.e. शरालि or Whistling Teal-Art 84c) is also quoted in this footnote and as the Duck's bill is flat and broad a rider is added that a refers only to the length of the Duck's bill and not to its breadth ! Nothing could be more absurd, particularly when it remembered that a prescribes a length of 12 fingers or approximately 7 inches and the Duck's bill is less than even 2.5. inches. The fact is that the identity of the two birds, art and art and the exact 1. 1.8.7. The Persian name for the bird is also derived from a word (maqass) mean- ing scissors. 2. Foot-note to 1.8.8 (1938 ed). Skimmer or Scissorbill 353 nature of their bills have been completely missed and for this not the commentators but the later lexicographers, who were each more of a grammarian than a field-naturalist, are responsible. The confusion dates back at least to the time offee, and his false synonymy on the identity of the names of several birds has been copied in the later lexicons includ- ing M. Williams. We have thus the following lexical equations :- (i) शरारिराठिराडिव – अमर (ii) आटिः शरारिरातिः स्यात्-हलायुध and हेमचन्द्र (अभि. चि.) (iii) आतिस्त्वाटि: शराटिका वैजयन्ती (iv) शरारिरारिराटिन शरार्यायतिरित्यपि शरालिध शराली च कल्पद्रुकोश (v) आतिः - शरातिपक्षी – उणादिसूत्रवृत्ति of उज्वलदत्त. (vi) आतिः - जलोपरिसंचारिणि खगे- (vii) आटि: शरारिराडिव विचिता जलचारिणी-मदनपालनिघण्टु It would be seen that while अमर, हलायुध and हेमचन्द्र have confused शरारि or anfar with anfe or anfir, 4ft goes further and includes rafe in the same. equation. w goes still further and brings in fer as well. It may perhaps help if, before proceeding with the identification of were the above. names are allocated to their respective owners : +1.62. (i) शरारि, आरि, आति, शराति – the Skimmer (ii) आटि, आटी, आडि, आडी —the Black Ibis (Art. 80 ) (iii) शराटिकां (v.I. शराटी) -the White Ibis (Art. 80 ) (iv) शरालि, शराली -the Whistling Teal ( Art. 84C) The other synonymies for wafe found in riff and have proved of considerable help in identifying it as one of the names of the Skimmer. They are a and fe. Wilson's Dictionary also equates fer with wafe. Now a means 'fixed', 'constant' and in music 'the introductory verse of a song recurring as a kind of burthen'. ध वका (घु वतीति छ वका, आवपनविशेषः – गणरत्नमहोदधि * ) is a particular mode of ploughing the land where a plough or a team of ploughs proceeds straight in a direction to the end of the field and works back to the starting base-line, and so on. fg is fr. f हावकृती, भावकरणे and means 'to sport' and हिल्लोल, cognate with हिन्दोल, refers to a 'to and fro motion' (हिल्लोलयति, दोल्यति). If these senses of the words घ व and feet are checked up with the habits of the Skimmer as described by Whistler, no doubt is left as to the identity of a, fer, and were. The bird is constantly on the move going back and forth over a fixed beat, and
