454 Birds in Sanskrit Literature तप्तं वारि विहाय तीरनलिनीं कारण्डवः सेवते । -विक्रमोवंशीय, 2.23. The period of courtship in the Mallard is a prolonged one and it pairs very early in the year. During courtship a female may be frequently seen at a considerable height pursued by one or more drakes and performing many coy evolutions, flying in circles with extreme rapidity and keeping up the chase for a considerable time (see Birds of Great Britain and Ireland, Naturalists' Library, Ornithology, Vol. XIV, Part IV, Natatores, under 'Common Wild Duck, the Mallard'). The ancients had certainly observed the behaviour of the bird at its breeding haunts on the lakes in Kashmir and the Himalayas and they very appropriately named it fr ('the amorous Duck'- and M. Will.; cf. also it as an epithet for the Ruddy Sheldrake, the Indian Sarus and the House Sparrow). The drakes of a few other species also have characteristic ways of court- ing the female but they do not breed within Indian limits. The playful circling flight and gaggling high up in the air of the Geese, Mallards, Ruddy Sheldrakes, etc., is called नादावर्त्त :- हंसकारण्डवचक्रवाकादीनां व्योम्ति क्रीडतामावर्ती नादावर्त्तः । -अभि. राजेन्द्र under 'आवट्ट' 10. The Spot-bill or Grey Duck (24") may be readily distinguished by the orange-yellow of the terminal third of its bill and two red spots, one on each side of the forehead, at the base of the bill. It is in Hindi, बरमुधी हंस (prob a phonetic error for वरमुखी हंस fr. वर-कुङ्कम saffron, and मुख face, in reference to the partly orange-yellow bill and the red spots) in Assam, and g (fr. fear vermillion?) in Sind. The Hindi name points to Sansk. is for a Duck so that both the Cotton Teal and share it, while the name वरमुखी हंस (cf. नन्दींमुखी) though lost to the lexicons has been preserved by the people of Assam. It is one of the resident and common Duck of India. 11. The Gadwall (20") is a brown Duck of medium size. "In India the Gadwall is perhaps the most numerous of our non-diving Ducks, occurr- ing in immense flocks from Sind to Assam...." (S. Baker). It is known in Hindi as a which is the same as (Prakrit for dirty) Sansk. af for a kind of हंस in हिन्दी शब्दसागर. The निघण्टुरत्नाकर also has मलिन for a कलहंस which, however, is a little incorrect as no other lexicon supports it. The Gadwall, being of a dark colour (f), is the fage proper. 12. The Wigeon (19") is a Duck of shallow swamps and marshes and "loves feeding in a few inches of water or in water where the weeds come close the top" and they also graze on young crops, and instead of resting during the day like other Ducks it continues to feed "in jheels throughout the day near the edges where they remain among reeds and vegetation" (S. Baker). This Duck is known as fure in Hindi, fr. Sansk. Swans, Geese, Ducks and Mergansers fa (fond of eating) which however is not found in any Sanskrit lexicon as a bird-name, but there is reason to believe that frage must have been its Sanskrit name, for it is so very apt. 13. The Common Teal (15") is easily identified from the male's painted face and chestnut-red head and upper neck. A broad shining green band runs through the eye and is bordered both above and below. by a white edging. It is this colour pattern on the face contrasting with the surrounding chestnut which accounts for its Sanskrit name of aff defined as लोहिता तु या रोहिणी स्यात्-कल्पद्रु; cf. लोहित, रोहित for form of incom- plete rainbow; fgfore, a woman with face red coloured with pigments. Its name af in Hindi corresponds to fear of the lexicon, while fit as a water-bird in , ch.13, is this beautiful Duck. Hindi tar for Ducks like this and the Blue-winged Teal with a conspicuous white eye-brow against a pink-brown head is probably derived from Sansk. arft for face-decoration with various scented pigments'. 455 14. The principal feature of the graceful Pintail Duck (22") are its long, pointed pin-like central tail feathers which project at an angle well beyond the tail. It is known as सींकपर (श पन) in Hindi; शलांच (शल्यहंस, same as we below) in Bengali; and faqe (eriges) in Cutch. Sanskrit name is , which occurs with f (a needle?) in ft in a mixed list of names for ge. The occurrence of this Duck on the Himalayan lakes is mentioned in the fago proper = शोभितं चक्रवाकाद्यैः कादम्बैहंसशङ्क, भिः - 2.22.59. "For the table they (Pintails) are among the best of all the Duck" and they were certainly eaten in India. The medical treatise, , prohibits the [ हंस to a patient suffering from piles in the chapter, बर्शोऽधिकार. 15. The Garganey or Blue-winged Teal is a brown and black Duck streaked white in parts, with blue and grey on the wings and a broad white supercilium. It is common all over India from September onwards and visits large swamps, village tanks and even ponds. Being a nightfeeder it rests by day and causes a good deal of damage to winter rice and wheat crops. One of the peculiarities of its flight noticed by Stuart Baker is that like the White-eyed Pochard, the Scaup and the Goosander it rises. obliquely from the water. The वैजयन्ती describes हंस साचि as a क्षुद्र हंस or Duck, and the descriptive epithet साचि in the name ( "तिर्यगर्थे साचि:"-अमर, going or moving side-ways) would seem to refer to its oblique flight. The word has perhaps some such significance in the following passage : साचीव वै वयः पक्षी कृत्वा पतीयः पतति ___-पश्चविशब्राह्मण, 5.1.12. 1. This name is on a par with ' (constantly eating) for a horse who, not being a ruminant, need not stop like cattle to chew the cud.
