16 Birds in Sanskrit Literature with in the Crow family even by systematists but the latter have now been separated as a family under a different suborder. That Rollers were regarded as a kind of Jay is also clear from the fact that M. Williams renders their Sanskrit name, T, as "the Blue Jay". In India also both Jays and Rollers were looked upon as varieties of and the former were distinguished simp- ly as , for the Hindi named for the Black-throated Jay is appa- rently a corruption of वनचाष- वनचापड़ा बनसासरा–बनसरी ? The common Sanskrit name for a Roller is (V. L.), but as it is one of the most auspicious birds of India and one whose form god Siva loved to assume on occasion it has earned for itself several complimentary epithets. Some of these like graft and afters are from the list of attri- butes of god Śiva contained in the fragram section of the Siva Purana, 3-koti-rudra Samhità, ch. 35, 118. Epithets descriptive of the bird's plu- mage, voice and habits, though apparently set down as synonyms for are really applicable not to any particular species but to different species taken separately, while a third set of epithets emphasizes their lucky aspects as birds of augury. The following brief description of the three species of Roller found from Kashmir to Nepal would help to allocate the adjectives appropriate to every one of them. (1) The Kashmir Roller (12") has the whole head, neck and lower parts under wing-coverts and auxillaries pale blue, darkest and streaked with brilliant small-blue on the breast and throat; back rufous-brown; Its local name is rump blue; and tail bluish-green. The bill is black. 'Nila krosh" (नीलचाष, the same as नीलाङ्ग चाष) from the predominance of the blue colour in the bird's plumage not only on the wings and tail as in others but also on the head, neck and lower parts. It is confined to Kashmir and the North-West. (2) The Broad-billed Roller has a dark brown head tinged with olive (yellowish-brown); tail and wings black suffused with deep blue; the back and lower parts greenish-brown with the centre of chin, throat and fore- neck deep purple-blue. The bill is deep vermilion. It is a much quieter bird and of more crepuscular habits than the others. "All through the hotter hours of the day it may be seen perched quietly high up on the loftiest tree of that particular bit of forest, or on the topmost branch of a dead tree in a clearing. As it is motionless its head sunk into the puffed out feathers of its shoulder and breast, it seems to be fast asleep except for a harsh croak, uttered every quarter of an hour or so." But it is quite wide-awake all the time; cf. graft below. It is the m-or f- proper and therefore sacred to fire who occasionally loved to assume its form-see Mahabharata, 13. 15, 146. This Roller occurs in the foot hills of the Himalayas and the adjacent plains, and also in the hills and nearby plains of the West coast from Wynad southwards and in Ceylon. 1. Grierson's Kashmir Dictionary. Nila Kias in F.B.I. is incorrect. Crows and their Allies 17 (3) The Indian Roller (13") is a bird of the plains and fields and is commonly seen in the more thickly inhabited parts. It is bluish- green on the crown and nape and purplish red marked with broad creamy shaft-stripes on the throat and upper breast, fading into rufous-brown further down. The back is greenish-brown, and the remain- ing parts, including the tail and wings, consist of various shades of blue. The point to be noted is that there is no yellowish brown on the head. nor any blue on the throat or fore-neck. The bill is blackish brown. The Rollers, when at rest, appear to be rather sombre coloured and not at all conspicuous but when on the wing they give us a most "vivid display of colour". The courtship exhibitionism is much the same in all species but the Indian Roller is not only the noisiest but also the most demonstrative of all three. The male "indulges in a series of fantastic acrobatics, rocket- ing into the air, somersaulting and nose-diving to the accompaniment of harsh grating screams and with the brilliant plumage flashing in the sun" (Salim Ali). Now, since everyone f the above three is an auspicious bird (fr) and fulfils the requirements of augury, the names and epithets of all of them have been mixed up in the so-called synonyms for: (a) स्वर्णचूड, मणिकण्ठ, विशोक, स्वस्तिक, अपराजित, etc. in वसन्तराज (b) किकिदीवि, चित्रवाज, महायोगी, नीलाङ्ग, पुन्यदर्शन, etc. in कल्पद्रुकोश. (c) नीलकण्ठ, चलपुच्छ, माजल, राजविहङ्गम, किकी, etc. in M. W. (d) हेमतुण्ड, नीलग्रीव, etc. in the verse quoted at the end. The truly descriptive adjectives in the above lists are far (having variegated wings); नीलाङ्ग (blue-bodied), मणिकण्ठ, नीलकण्ठ or नीलग्रीव (blue- throated; cf. fres, in the same sense as the name of the Peacock of Pururavas in Vikramorvasiya, 5. 54 where for stands for 'a sapphire'); Ft (gold-headed, i.e., with a yellowish-brown head); gr (golden, i.e., red-billed); faffe (calling 'ki ki' aloud during a sportive flight, or calling, and shining beautifully on the wing); and (frequenting, or resi- dent in dry waterless areas). It will be seen that all these cannot be true of any single species of Roller and must be allocated to their respective owners. In a general way, after and for would seem to apply to all the three species but since the lower parts of the Kashmir Roller are blue throughout the first epithet would seem to be specific for it, particularly as far for any Roller does stand in some contrast to ar (see below). fors and its variants apply to the Kashmir and the Broad-billed varieties but not to the Indian Roller. The epithets re and clearly belong to the broad-Billed species and to no other. Lastly, fefefa (if it is really 1. f is also the common cock after its red Lappets. 2. कि कि इति शब्दं कुर्वन् दीव्यति क्रीडति. It appears that the names किकि and किकिदीवि are shared by (i) a noisy kingfisher which is a water bird and (ii] the Indian Roller
