354 Birds in Sanskrit Literature the names आति (अत् सातत्यगमने) and शराति (शरे जलोपरि अतति) also refer to this trait of the bird; cf. fafar af in synonymy (vii) above. The statement "नयां आति: नद्याति:" in पतञ्जलि महाभाष्य also brings out the close association of the आति with a river. It flies very low over the surface of the water-hardly a couple of inches above it for. it must cut the surface with the lower mandible all the time and, therefore, appears to cut or sweep the surface of the water as it were and this has given it the name of t (if, 'a cutter' or 'broom'). The name anfe in is merely short for wrafe and supports the derivation of the latter suggested above. The open position of the two blades of the bill and their closing upon a tiny fish clearly resembles the action of a pair of scissors and this, evidently suggested the w as a dual purpose surgical instrument. The lower mandible of the Skimmer projects considerably beyond the upper and resembles a knife-blade with a vertically flat and rounded point so that if a pair of scissors resembling this bird's bill is made it will act as a scissors up to the tip of the upper blade while the projecting flat tip of the lower blade, if sharpened, will serve as a blood-letting lancet. One can only admire the power of acute observa- tion and originality of the Sage in designing his instruments, art and rafe for the Ibises, and wafer for the Whistling Teal Duck will be found discussed in the articles noted against them above, but a word or two in explanation of how the different names came to be confused, one with the other, would not be out of place here. It appears that the earliest lexicons, now lost, gave the names separately for 'a kind of bird' but later when the identity of the birds themselves was forgotten, lexicographers who, working within the four walls of their study were concerned more with con- siderations of Grammar and brevity than anything else, treated the names as examples of substitution (according to "रलयोरैक्यम्", "डलयोरभेदः”, etc., and the changes of a---c.g. in words like - पटिमा, पतङ्गपटंग, घट-घड, चटक–चडग etc.) and therefore held them to be identical, that, in short, all of them were variae lectiones () of one or two original names. At the same time it is difficult not to blame them for overlooking the distinction between शरारी and भाटी so evident in सुश्रुत In Vedic literature the Skimmer occurs under the name of arfa in RV², and in the .fign. In the former and her companion-maids are discovered sporting at a lake by ge who goes in search of her. She asks him to return home, adding, that fast like the wind as she is, it would be 1. 6.1.127. 2. 10.95.9. 3. 24.34. Skimmer or Scissorbill 355 difficult for him to capture her. The also mentions the story and describes the birds as frisking, skipping or flying over the water :- ता अप्सरस आतयो भूत्वा परिपुप्लुविरे । We have already seen how parties of the Skimmers fly up and down. their beat over a given stretch of water (river or lake) and how when alarmed they are capable of immense speed. The behaviour of it and her friends in the form of anfe birds is therefore perfectly in keeping with the ways of the Skimmer. The dedication of anfa with a (a particular type of Python, a snake being ara in Sanskrit), and after (the Spoonbill, Art.79) to the Wind-god is quite in keeping with what it as an afer says of herself- दुरापना वात इवाहमस्मि । and no further comment is called for. It is submitted that to render anfa as g is incorrect. In secular literature also the Skimmer has been mentioned, once in the Rāmāyaṇa:³ ददृशुः सहिता रम्यं तडागं योजनायतम् । शरारिहंसकुररैराकीर्ण जलचारिभिः ॥ and again in the ऋतुसंहार 4. 6: प्रफुल्लनीलोत्पलशोभितानि शरारि ( शरालि ) कादम्बविभूषितानि । प्रसन्नतोयानि सुशीतलानि (सशैवलानि), सरांसि चेतांसि हरन्ति पुंसाम् ॥ Here if it is remembered that the Skimmer is associated with perfectly clean sheets of water and the Whistling Teal prefers weedy waters, the alternative reading of refer necessitates the reading 'af' while wafe goes well with w and f (clear and cool) waters. Like the Vultures, the most unlikely entry of a Skimmer (it) into a residential house is considered an ill omen : कवर्धनी चैव निपतन्ति गृहे यदि - भविष्यपुराण, 2.20.17. An appreciative reference to the charm that the anfa bird adds to a lake should be a fitting close to this article: The Ducks are at home in the lotus-bed at one end; White Ibises (*) fishing along the edges; a pair of 1 "दुरापना बात इवाहमस्मि" 95.2. 2. 11.5.1. 3. III.15.6 (Cal.Ein.), quoted under जलचारी in शब्दकल्पद्रुम
