10 THE THRUSH FAMILY 1. This family includes the Chats, Indian and Magpie Robins, Blackbirds, Rock and Ground Thrushes, etc. of which the Chats, Robins, and Rock. Thrushes are of a comparatively small size. They are active little birds and Whistler's characterization of some of them is typical, at any rate of the majority of birds constituting the family. The Indian Bush Chat, he says, is very restless and fairly shy, and is incessantly flirting its wings and tail. The Stone Chat also behaves in a similar way. The flight of the Pied Wheat- ear is strong and fast and always low over the ground, and perching or hopping, the carriage of the bird is very spry and upright. The Black bird hops and runs, while the Red-Start shivers its tail and bobs its head like the Brown Rock-Chat and the Blue Rock-Thrushes. The demeanour of the Indian Robin again, is very sprightly, hopping about with the head held stiffly high and the tail cocked well forward over the back These points in the behaviour of this bird have also been emphasised as prognosticating attitudes by बसन्तराज :- “वध्वागमाभीप्सितकार्यसिद्धि करोति पुच्छं पुनरुत्क्षिपन्ती । नृत्यन्त्यभीक्ष्णं परमप्रमोदान्महोत्सवं मङ्गलमादिशन्ती।।” "लुठंत्यवन्यां' गुलिकेव तारा या याति पद्भ्यां गुलिकिर्मता सा।।" 7.76 7.115. 2. M. Williams renders "ar" as a sparrow and a toy horse, and the term also means a sinall pony. Apparently a particular class of birds of the 1. ar is a descriptive epithet of at when it shoots off in different directions like a meteor or shooting star (ar) -Ibid. 7.107.9. af (hopping or "fa" refers to the Robin's fast tripping movement on the ground, like at rolling little ball fer, a Prakritism) and it is called the fefe: when executing such a movement. Other styles of the bird are named leaping), स्वलित (faulty gait), गोमूविका सपंवत् (zig zagging on the wing) and शरबत् afegan (straight arrow-like flight)-ibid. 7.113-16. These clearly exhibit a certain t amount of parallelism with the dr, afera (a defect) and BTT types of motion in a horse as described in अश्व चकित्सा of नकुल Clh. 8, cited in शब्दकल्पद्रुम under घोटक, and in शुक्रनीतिसार, 4.7.144-49, Jeevanand's Edn (1898). The Thrush Family 45 size of a common sparrow was named avre by reason of a certain fancied similarity of habits with a frisky little colt. The latter is active and handsome, carries its neck and head high, flicks its táil now and then, and I has otherwise a sprightly demeanour. In the avian fauna of North India no other birds, except perhaps the White Wagtails, make a nearer approach to this picture of a little colt than the Chats and Robins, and it must be a happy inspiration of some observant sage which gave them the name of ¹ It seems to be a very ancient name and though its true significance was forgotten in later times the name itself was happily preserved in some of the manuscript lexicons for a "Sparrow" as '-' even though. a particular type of it may well have been intended, just as gives गोर वर्तक, etc. for खगे instead of "खगान्तरे"or पक्षिभेदे and yet they are names of particular birds. It is the same with other lexicons and fe lists. The name ar, however, gives us very much more information as to the sort of sparrow it is than a brief and vague lexical definition like the above. It is also interesting to note that the Northern Indian Stone-Chat is known as पिढा or कालापिद्दा; the White-tailed Bush Chat as खरपिद्दा (खर a thorny plant on which the bird often perches); the Red-Spotted Blue-throat as ftest for all in Hindi, and it is suggested that the name frer has something to do with Sanskrit f (probably the Goral Goat known as fi in Kashmir) or a (the mythical horse). Hindi tet for any insignificant bird is related to Prakrit fefefe or fufcft for the White-throated Munia and allied forms. It would seem, therefore, that the term a denotes a particular type of Sparrow-like birds and that type is represented by certain members of the Chat and the Robin group. The name, based on certain habits, may well include the smart and active Wagtails which are known as tarter' (winter-pony) in Gujarat. In this name a signifies the time when Wagtails are plentiful in the country and 'rer' their smart- ness, power of running on the ground and their tail-wagging habit. देशीनाममाला of हेमचन्द्र gives us a specific bird-name आसक्ख or आसंक्खओ (अश्वारूप, अश्वारूयक; Cf आसनबंध for अश्वस्कन्ध) which goes a great way to strengthen the above hypothesis regarding the type of sparrow-like birds indicated by the term (see below). 3. The Indian Robin is a common plains bird, about the size of a sparrow, with blackish brown upper parts, glossy black head and breast, a small white patch on the shoulder and a conspicuous chestnut patch under the tail which is offen flicked and spread out and carried erect. The female is dark brown all over and has a chestnut patch under the tail. It is mentioned as श्यामा and कपोतकी in बृहत्संहिता, and पोदकी (v.l. पोतकी) in वसन्तराज, The 1. कः प्रतिकृती; अश्वक: अश्वक रूपम्-हैमशब्दानुशासन, 7.1.154. अश्वक – a sparrow, M. W. Prakrit आसक्त (अश्वास्य) has been defined more clearly as we shall sce presently. 2. हि. श. सा. equates पिदड़ी and पीदड़ी with पिड़ी, feminine of पिद्दा This is perhaps questionable as no masculine form of पिदड़ी or पोदड़ी like पिदड़ा or पीदड़ा is known. 3. Ch. 87.5. 4. Ch. 7.4.
