44 THE TROGONS These beautiful birds inhabit forests and from their perch on a tree they fly out from time to time in pursuit of insects, chiefly beetles, moths and cicadas. They are generally silent birds but have a low 'mew' or a soft 'too-too-too' call. As a North-Indian bird we are concerned with only one species, the Red-headed Trogon which occurs in the Himalayas upto about 5000 ft. elevation from Nepal to Assam and eastwards. "It is exclu- sively a forest bird and prefers the interior of the damp, dark, evergreen cover, where it sits very silent and quiet throughout the heat of the day," and is most common in the lower hills between 1,500 and 2,500 feet. It is deep crimson on the head, neck, and upper breast with the remaining lower parts bright crimson. Its back, scapulars and wing-coverts are ferruginous- brown, brighter and more rufous on the rump and upper tail-coverts; wings are black. ays is the name of a xg bird in (also a descriptive term for the Brahminy Kite, Art. 52-D) and is a bird of some peculiar habits recom- mended as an object-lesson to a prince in the मार्क० पुराण "हंसकुक्कुटलोहानां शिक्षेत चरितं नृपः।" A king is advised acquire the power of dist hing good from evil from the ; qualities of valour, early-rising etc. from the ge; and other qualities from the bird. Now if the Red-headed Trogon (te means 'red' and as means "red or reddish-backed" bird) is the bird meant here, as I believe it is, it certainly possesses qualities which an enterprising prince should do well to cultivate. Out on an expedition, he must keep to cover in a forest, practise secrecy, talk only in whispers, and know how and when to sally forth suddenly against an unsuspecting enemy and return to cover again with the booty. The Trogon has all these and should be the लोहपक्षी of the Purāna and लोहपृष्ठ of चरक. लोह is also mentioned as one of the Himalayan birds in मत्स्य पुराण 1. 25.18 (cf. verse 997, "सामान्य नीति" सुभाषित.) 2. 118.52. 45 SWIFTS 1. We have seen in Art. 25 that the common name e applies to both Swallows and Swifts, and while is a general name for the former, the latter are generally known as दुर्बल, दुर्बलिक and चिरिल्ली or चीरल्लि. In this article an attempt is made to explain the latter terms along with other names for the Swift. 2. The Swifts, though similar in appearance and outline to the Swallows, are very different in structure and belong to a different order of birds. "They are the most aerial of all birds, spending the whole of their waking existence on the wing. The flight is very rapid and highly charac- teristic,......a Swift wheels and dashes through the air with frequent changes of direction, tilting now to one side, now to the other, with a succes- sion of rapid wing-beats alternating with long glides on extended wings.. It does not voluntarily settle on the ground., the short legs with all the toes directed forwards being only adapted to clinging to rocks, masonry, etc." (Smythies). Should it be grounded, due to some accident, "it rises with great difficulty, the bird raising itself by repeated attempts and strokes upon the ground by the shoulders." The Common House Swift is "highly gregarious, being usually found in flocks of fifty or more, which breed together in colonies, ..The nest colonies are found about buildings, whether these be the ordinary dwelling houses of an Indian village or town or ruined temples, shrines and forts. The birds occupy these nest colonies continuously, breed- ing rather irregularly, so that eggs or young may be found in some of the nests at any time, and at all times using the nests to rest or sleep in.... (Their voice is a) curious squealing call which so aptly seems to express the fierce joy of an aerial creature in its element. The flocks usually feed in loose open order, but at times, specially in the evenings, they collect together into a "ball", mounting high into the air as a squealing, careering mass" (Whistler). 3. Names like दुर्बल, दुर्बलिक, and कृश (दुर्बल) are clearly in reference to the Swift's inability to rise from the ground; cf. the phrase "g fe gen" for a cow that has got stuck up in deep mire and is too weak to extricate herself. 1. Birds of Great Britain and Ireland.
