138 Birds in Sanskrit Literature have offered an excellent parallel for the voice of two birds ( i ) a particular kind of hooting owl, known as कुलाल and कुम्भोलूक ( Art, 49 ) and (ii) the Coucal, named कुम्भ in मत्स्यपुराण 118, 51; cf. रिक्तकुम्भ, 'voice of an empty vessel'– M.W. an 3. The identity of कुलालकुक्कुट and कुलालकुक्कुम together with the splitting up of the former into "कुलाल कुक्कुटं "in the हारावली has led incorrect synonymy of कुक्कुट with कुक्कुम though these two names standing by themselves are altogether different, कुक्कुट being the Common or the Wild Cock and कुक्कुम the Coucal; Cf. जलकुक्कुम for the Water Cock which too has a booming call. None of the important lexicons like अमरकोश, अभिधान चिन्तामणि, विकाण्डशेष, कल्पद्रु कोश धन्वन्तरिनिघण्टु and राजनिघण्टु mentions कुक्कुभ asa synonym for कुब कुट, cock. On the other hand there is literary evidence to show that कुक्कुम is quite a different bird from the Jungle Fowl (कुक्कुट ) :- "कोकिलांच्छतपत्रांत्र सकोयष्टिक कुक्कुभान् । मयूरान्कुक्कुटान् हंसान्सारसांचऋसाह्वयान् ॥" महाभारत, 13.54.10-11 The वेस्संतर जातक also clearly distinguished between कुक्कुट and कुनकुह (कुलकुम ) :- "चंकोरा कुक्कुटा नागा अञ्जमञ्जपकूजिनो"- Verse, 2098 "करविया च सग्गा च उहुंकारा च कुक्कुहा" - Verse, 2100 Thus कुक्कुभ in the following is the Coucal and not a cock:- “वीरुन्नीडकपोतकूजिमनुक्रन्दन्त्यधः कुक्कुभाः" मालतीमाधव, 9.7. The full verse describes a mid-day scene in the hot weather and the idea in the above line is that while the Doves are continuously cooing high up in their resting places the Coucals are 'hooping' lower down in the trees. The word कन्दन implics 'continuous calling and suits the Coucals better than the wild cocks that go to rest and sleep and ordinarily do not crow during the hot hours of the day. The onomatopoetic explanation of the name कुक्कुम given in अभिधानचिन्तामणि and the Marathi name for the Coucal, कुंभार कुकड़ी (from कुम्भकार कुक्कुट ) leave no doubt whatever about its identity, and the rendering of "Phasianus gallus" i.e. the wild cock, in M. Williams is incorrect. 4. Each of the two lines of the following verse from the कल्पद्रुकोश is descriptive of a single bird, the first deals with नीलच्छवि the Fairy Blue- Bird (Art. 18) and the second with the Coucal:- "नीलच्छवि: कृष्णगलः स ग्रामचटकाकृतिः । ककुभ: ककुभाकार स्थलजो रक्तपर्णकः ॥" Cuckoos Two other variants of the verse are as below:- "नीलच्छवि: कृष्णगल: स्याग्रामचटकाकृतिः । कुक्कुभ: कुक्कुभाराव: स्थलजो रक्तवत्मकः ॥” Quoted in the gloss on अष्टांगहृदय Paradkar's edition, N. S. 1939. "सितपुच्छो नीलगलः स्याद् ग्रामचटकाकृतिः । कुक्कुटः कुक्कुटारावः स्थलजो रक्तवर्णकः ॥" 139 Quoted by Tripurari on मालतीमाधव, 9.7, Niranaya Sagar edition, 1926, and M. R. Kale in his Notes on the same, Poona. A descriptive synonymy for the bird known as ककुभ occurs separately in the कल्पद्रुकोश "चित्रवर्णस्तु फकुभो". K. M. Vaidya in his अष्टांगहृदयकोश renders कुबकुम as a variety of Red Jungle Fowl; a large type of cock •per [चत्रदत्त or according to some ( इति केचित्) even the Turkey Cock (?). 5. With कुक्कुभ as a certainty for the Coucal and रक्तवत्मक for Pheasants having red orbital skin it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the correct original reading of the second half of the above verse was as under: 1 "कुलकुभः कुक्कुभारावः स्थलजो रक्तपर्णकः।" and the descriptive words ककुभ: ककुभाकार: belong to a different synonymy for the bird named ककुभ which besides being a heavy plump bird resembling in outline the gourd fitted to a guitar or वीणा as a sound box (ककुभो बीणाङ्गे। अधबिद्धालाबूमय भाण्डे–वाचस्पत्यम्; वीणा प्रसेवे-हेमचन्द्र कल्प) had also a variegated plumage (चित्रवर्णस्तु ककुभो ), and I have identified this truly ककुभाकार bird with the Himalayan Snow Cock ( Art 55). The epithets रक्तवर्णक तवरक are evidently wror readings inserted by ignorant scribes. The Coucal being a black bird with chestnut-red wings has a better claim to the attribute of रक्तपर्णक than to the others. Similarly the incorrect reading of कुक्कुटाराव: is due to the confusion between कुनकुम and कुक्कुट, The epithet स्थलज (land-born) really distinguishes it as स्थलकुक्कुभ from the Water Cock which is जलकुक्कुभ (Art. 58), the call of both being of a booming variety (कुक्कुभाराव). The red glow of sun has been compared with the chestnut-coloured wings of the coucal:- “कुम्भकार कुक्कुटपक्षविच्छाय मनाक्तमोनुविद्ध संध्यारागः ।” नलचम्पू, 5 after verse 76 The Hindi name for the Coucal is महोक which it is difficult to derive though it may be from मुहुः+क, मुहुर्मुहुः कायंते or मही with ओक्स्, or again from मधुक, a sweet-calling bird, with a secondary reference to मधुक, 'a bard' or मागघ who wakes up royalty with soft music in the morning. The Coucal too begins its hooping call at dawn; cf. the following :- "प्रबोध्यते मागधसूत पूर्गेनित्यंस्तुवद्भिः स्वयमद्रकल्पः ।” महाभारत, 3.236.10
