358 Birds in Sanskrit Literature 4. Some of the relevant dictionary meanings, lexical synonymies and a couple of other references given below would perhaps be found useful:- (1) af-'A kind of water-fowl' and the Lapwing in M. W., and ‘जलकुक्कुट' in शब्दकल्पद्रुम and शब्दार्थचिन्तामणि. (2) f-'having legs like sticks', the Lapwing (or a small white Crane, commonly called Paddy-bird) in M. W. (3) firar Parra jacana or goensis-M. W. (the Red-wattled Lapw- ing) (4) feefew and feefewe-Parra jacana-M. W. (5) कोशिकी–कोयष्टि (6) कोयष्टि शिखरी समी-हेमचन्द्र, वैजयन्ती (7) कोयष्टि शिखरी जलकुक्कुभ:-अभिधानचिन्तामणि (8) कोयष्टि: जलकुक्कुभ:-विकाण्डशेष (9) कोयष्टि टिटिभः- धन्वन्तरि (10) कोयष्टिष्टिटिभष्टिटि:-कल्पद्रु (11) कोयष्टि or कोयष्टिक and टिटिभ are different birds in (i) मनुस्मृति, 5.11 & 13; (ii) मत्स्यपुराण 118.50-51; (iii) अमरकोश; and (iv) याज्ञ वल्क्य, 1.173, where कोयष्टि has been loosely rendered as फीच, i.e., Egret or Heron in the मिताक्षरा टीका (cf. the expression कौनिभा for 'birds resembling a Crane' in वसन्तराज, 4.48). 5. A consideration of the above material shows that originally the terms कोयष्टिक and टिटिभ, corresponding to कोयष्टि and कुष्टिका of चरक, applied to different birds and it was through the already existing after as a synonym for fecfew that the name af also came very early to be identified with the red and yellow-wattled Lapwings. The terms af, कुष्टिका (diminutive from masc. कुपष्टिक), कोयष्टि and कोयष्टिक seem to form a sort of homonymous series based upon two different senses of afe for (i) a stick or support, with reference to the longish legs or horn-like crest of a bird, and (ii) hair or anything thin or slender, referring to the thin and longish crest-feathers possessed by others. Similarly the prefixes and suffixes , and would seem to have been understood in several senses, e.g., (i) कुत्सितार्थे, अल्पायें, (ii) a variant of कं–जलम्; (iii) कं–शिरः; (iv) कं–केशः and (v). Thus af as a homonym should be (i) the Water-cock (शिखरी or जलकुक्कुभ) with a horn or stick like appendage on the head and (ii) the Black-winged Stilt, a bird of the Lap-wing family, characterised. by very long legs and called me (the long-legged) in the vernacular. after would then be (i) the Lapwings with shorter legs in comparison to the Stilt and (ii) the Green Plover or the Peewit with its long, thin, pointed and recurved crest कोयष्टि of भरक, मनु, etc. and कोयष्टिक (प्रकारार्थे कन्) of अमर, सुश्रुत, and भवभूति are the smaller crested Herons and Bitterns which 1. M. Williams gives ककुयष्टिका by separating "चिरिटोककुयप्टिका" of नरक in correctly. Plovers 359 keep standing in shallow water for hours waiting for prey to come to them. This trait of theirs and the possession of thin crests may be explained with reference to the derivation of the name given in the materit te on अमर and elsewhere, "कं जलं यष्टिरिवास्य" to which I would add another "के मूर्ध्नि affare". If the word afe in the latter derivation is taken for 'a.stick' it would be true of the Water-cock as well. See Art. 58 for Water-cock and Art. 82 for Herons. 6. The equation "tufe: fart at" is, therefore, equally true of the Green Plover and the Water-Cock. This is evident from the fact that it has been extended to include in Nos. (7) & (8) above. The name firert means 'pointed', 'crested' and 'erection of the hair on the body'. कोयष्टि or कोयष्टिक again, as a bird with powerful call-notes either a feefew, the Red or Yellow-Wattled Lapwing, or the Water-Cock according as the bird is placed in a drier or wet zone or with water birds. On the other hand af, or more correctly af, as a water-side or tree-perch- ing bird is any (one or more) variety of the smaller crested Herons or Bitterns. Unlike the piercing and persistent notes of the Lapwings the voice of these birds is a mere croak, uttered at intervals. 7. Names like कोयष्टि and कोयष्ट्रिभकs are clearly formed on the analogy of feefew and feefew and point to the adaptation and appropriation of the term fez (small crested Heron) for the commoner Lapwings and they too like कुष्टिका, mark another stage in the assimilation of the name कोयष्टि, with feefen for the Lapwings. It must, however, be noted that the poets have used all the variants of fe indiscriminately for the Lapwings or small Herons according to the needs of the metre in hand. Thus even the form कोयष्टिभक has been used for the smaller Bitterns in रामायण ( Art. 82). In the following examples the birds meant by कोयष्टि, कोयष्टिभक, and कोयष्टिक are the Lapwings:- कोयष्टिभिश्चार्जुनकैः शतपत्तैश्च कीचकैः । एतान्यैश्च बहुभिर्नादितं तद्वनं महत् ॥ प्रहृष्टकोयष्टिभकोकिलस्वनं- विनोदयन्तं च सुखं परं शिवम् || उद्दामयुमणियुतिव्यतिकरप्रक्रीडदोपल- ज्वालाजालजटालजाङ्गलतटीनिष्कूजकोयष्टयः ॥ रामायण 3.75.12 Ibid., 2.54.43 अनर्धराघव 2.30 1. कोयष्टि has been rendered as कौन्च, ic, a Heron like bird or alternatively as बक in the same sense in याज्ञवल्क्यस्मृति, 1.173. 2. Rāmāyaṇa 2.54.43. 3. Ibid. 5.1.44, and Allahabad Ed., 6.38.9.
