22 WEAVER-BIRDS AND MUNIAS A. WEAVER-BIRDS 1. Weaver-Birds are very Finch-like both in size and appearance and the males are gaudily dressed in rich yellow particularly at breeding time. They are rather noisy birds and have a twittering call ending with a whistle. Their beauty and the art of building fine weather-proof nests account for their being regarded as a kind of fag in Sanskrit (See Art. 23A), and the correct name for them is f (yellow-headed sparrow "कलविवस्त्वसौ पीतमुण्ड: "चंजयन्ती). M. Williams has, however, mixed up पीततुण्ड (-US), the Mallard Duck, with tags, the Weaver-Bird. "Weaving is a passion with these birds, and a pair of them work in complete co-operation, the male outside (the partly built nest) passing the ends of the grass through the wall of the structure to the female inside, who threads them back to him, till the beautifully woven structure is complete; it is secured by the serrated edges of the strips of grass and is almost too tough to be torn apart by the hands" (Smythies). The nest is a retort-shaped structure of woven grass with a long tubular passage opening downwards. This description of the habits of the bird fully justifies the following names for it:- (1) ( 2 ) कौलीक from कौलिक, a weaver or कुलिक, an artisan, corresponding to Hindi aur from to weave; चञ्चुसूची or सूचीमुख (Prakrit सुईमूह) from the bird's beak being used like a needle; and (3) सुगृह (v.1. स्वगृह ?) i.e. having an excellent and well protected nest. 'सुमूह' (Prakrit सुहर) has been defined by हेमचन्द्र in देशीनाममाला as a kind of sparrow which builds a nest opening downwards ("यस्या अधोमुखं नीदं भवति"). कल्पद्रुकोश has – "सूचीचञ्चुः पीतशीर्ष: सुगृहश्च". The habit of these cheerful birds of keeping up all day long their conver- sational chatter has won for them the epithet of कलिकार (कलि कलई करोति- -noisy; "कलिकार: धूम्याटे पीतमस्तके" विश्व, हेम. and मेदिनी पीतमस्तक i.e. पीतमुण्ड ). 2. As the best architect among birds, it is dedicated to, the Divine Architect, under the name of कौलीक in : "त्वष्ट्रे कौलिकान्” वाज. सं. 24, 24 unquestionably the best selection for this deity. Weaver-Birds and Munias 5. The पञ्चतन्त्र mentions it as सूचीमुख in वानरयूथ सूचीमुख कथा told in the fमनभेद section and कथासरित्सागर at 10.4,200 काबूक is yet another name for it and it may have something to do with the male bird's donning a yellow cap on his head ( fr aquifer) during the breeding season, or again with his habit of suspending the nest from the branch of a tree where it overhangs water (). The Black-throated Weaver-Bird which nests in tall grass or reeds is शरबया (Sanskrit शरकौलीक) in Bengali. 4. The name गुहकारी in मनुस्मृति, 12, 66 and विष्णुस्मृति, 44, 36, if correctly interpreted as a kind of bird' by commentators, रामचन्द्र and सर्वंश नारायण, appears to be the same as (i) for the Weaver-Bird which uses. various materials in the construction of its nest. This fits in very well with the punishment awarded to a person who steals miscellaneous petty goods. Otherwise also the context would seem to demand a bird. ger as an insect is the Solitary Wasp (genus Eumenes) commonly known as the Mud or Potter Wasp which uses only mud for its nest. The fafar (?) bird (v.1. सुहिल, cf. प्राकृ. सुहर ) of किचिद जातक, 321 which had a rain-proof nest was apparently a Weaver-Bird, as the story is the same as the one from Pañcatantra noted above. 89 B. MUNIAS The Munias are small birds, and like the majority of Warblers would go by the general name of afer, gfast, or gfre (cf. Pali and Pra- krit पुत्तक, पोतक, a little child and a young or small bird) but some have indeed specific names given to them. For example, the Spotted Munia is परोष्णी (fr. परुष, spotted, a little spotted bird; "चटिका विशेष:"- शब्दापंचिन्तामणि. cf. पृष्णि, पहष्णी, a speckled cow) The equation – "परोष्णी तेलपायिका" अमर is said to efer to the spotted Cockroach only but it may well be a homonymous equation referring to the Cockroach as well as the spotted little bird-both of an oily brown colour. In any case the names have been extended to this bird as well, as it is known in Hindi under the name of afarafat. It may also be recalled here that similar names obtain for the spotted Starling, viz., पारुण्ण, तैलपक and तैलपायो (Art. 21). gives us yet another name for this bird, viz., ger (ch. 8, 46), and the commentator explains it as a dark-coloured bird. with white spots ("कृष्णवर्णा लघुचटिका श्वेत- far-garen") which agrees very well with the White-spotted chocolate- brown of this Munia. ger in gent means 'a spot.¹² small 2. The White-throated and the White-backed Munias are faff or पिरिली (बृहत्संहिता, 85, 20 & 44; बसन्तराज, 4, 56 ) in Sanskrit (?) corres- 1. Commentator शूलपाणि on याज्ञवलय, 3.214 aho renders गुहकारी as a particular bird. 2. d. "कुसुमंञ्चिविता मुगा:" for the spotted deer, Rāmāyala, 2.99,13 where कुसुम is synonymous with ger and means a white spot.
