BIRDS 



Game 



.luiiiiii Methods 

 of Hunting. 



Professional 

 Trainers. 



Edible 

 Birds. 



D.E.P., 

 iii., 196-7. 



Ducks. 



Tealeries. 



Game 

 Birds. 



Brought to 

 Market. 



THE ECONOMIC BIRDS OF INDIA 



the South of India it is known as jawolum and wallur. To a less extent 

 fnico fXTfi/riniiH. or bhyri, dega or British Falcon is also valued. A few 

 other species are occasionally seen trained to strike, such as f. jugger, the 

 Laggar Falcon, and f. chemtg, the Saker Falcon. 



Nikitin (a Russian who travelled in India from 1468-74) mentions the fact 

 that the Grand Duke Iwan III. sent a present of falcons to the Shah of Shirvan. 

 The Ain-i-Akbari (Blochmann, transl., 293-4) gives many particulars of interest. 

 In fact a very extensive series of authors might be quoted in support of the- 

 antiquity in India both of the training of and hunting with hawks. Jerdon 

 gives a most interesting account of the Indian methods. As this is reproduced 

 in Blanford's Fauna of British India (iii., 416-7) it can be consulted by those 

 interested. Montgomery Martin (Hist. Topog. and Stat. E. Ind., ii., 148; 

 iii., 189, 579) speaks of the falconer as the mirshekari. In the Kangra Gazetteer 

 (1897, 99) we read of Hindu traders called paprdlas, who come from Amballa 

 and Patiala to purchase hawks, which they teach and then sell at a profit in 

 the plains. The Madras Mail (July 5, 1898) gives many details (derived 

 chiefly from Gates) regarding the catching and rearing of hawks in South India. 

 [Cf. Thevenot, Travels in Levant, Indostan, etc., 1687, iii., 38 ; Taleef Shereef 

 (Playfair, transl.), 1833, 140.] 



3. Birds, Edible. This is necessarily a very large and important 

 aspect of the study of Indian economic birds. It is readily referable 

 to two sections, viz. domesticated and wild. The former embraces the 

 varied assortment of birds usually classed as " poultry " and the latter 

 corresponds to the " lesser game." In the Dictionary the edible birds 

 have been discussed under the following groups : 



(a) Ducks, Teal, Geese and Swans. This corresponds to the 

 Anseres or Natatores. Blanford, I.e. iv., 411-71 ; E. C. Stuart- 

 Baker, Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc., xi. to xv. The domestic duck and 

 goose are the most important birds of this assemblage, but the common 

 wild teal, Nettinm crecca (Blanford, I.e. iv., 443) is universally eaten, 

 and sometimes reared (or fed up) in a state of semi-domesticity. In 

 Madras Presidency immense flocks of domestic ducks are herded on 

 the flooded fields, their eggs being an important article of export to 

 Burma. [Cf. Ainslie, Mat. Ind., 1826, i., 441 ; Campbell, A Successful 

 Duck Farm, in Agri. Gaz. N.-S. Wales, 1898, ix., 1377-82 ; Monier- 

 Williams, Buddhism, 525.] 



(6) Game Birds; Hume and Marshal, Game-Birds of Ind. ; W. L. 

 Sclater, I.e. ii., 117-21. This includes examples drawn from many families 

 such as the Bustards, Cranes, Ducks, Pheasants, Pigeons, Plovers, Quails, 

 Rails, and Snipe. 



Sclater gives the following as the birds commonly eaten or brought to 

 market: Caiamlreiia brncliydai-tyla,the baghaira Ortolan ; Pfcrlr* ftiiviitt, 

 the Golden Plover; C1i<ii<lrla*ninx strepem*, the Gadwall ; Clconin leuco- 

 cfphaia, the manikjor or Beefsteak Bird; f Y oiib ttttemteain- the kabutar 

 or Black Rock Pigeon ; Cotuniix -eotunitinis, the Batter or Gray Quail ; 

 Croeopiia piiaeiiicojptcruft, the hurrial or Green Pigeon; xtnjila <u-ntn. the 

 Pintail; JEnj>o</ofi e<lierc f<inH, the tokdar sohan or Bustard ; VrtmeoUntia jftlntt**, 

 the Painted Partridge ; Francoilnus vtilgaris, kalatitur or Black Partridge ; 

 i n n</ n i n HI/I-O, a . the White-eye ; Fnilguia rufln-a, the Red-crested Pochard ; 

 ftnlliiniffo ynllinuria, the Common Snipe; fJnIlinngn rttre-nnra , the Pin-tailed 

 Snipe; *}ifojerdijr */></ iVcit*. the Red Spur-fowl ; Galius fvrrngiiteus, the 

 jungli-murgi or Jungle Fowl ; Guilns sonneratl, the Gray-fowl ; ftrus >iti<jn< . 

 the sarus or sarus-Crane ; Honbtira Macqueeui. the Houbara Bustard ; 

 ii n<< i-uiiiiitxiti mi* f/iii-ii</iiM, the Pheasant-tailed Jacana ; xvttajtiin c.oroinan- 

 aeliatitts, the Cotton-teal ; nrtggornis guinri*, the bantitar or Kyal Partridge ; 

 Pavn cristutiis, mor or Peacock (Taleef Shereef, I.e. 158) ; fteroeten vxn-stun, 

 kuhar or Sandgrouse ; tfner tl n?itni<t cirdn, the Blue-winged or Garganey Teal ; 

 Sifjihvotis itrn<jtii<-itnix. the charas or Florican ; To/n* caiidrix, the Red 

 shanks or Snippet ; and Totanu* giareola, the Spotted Sandpiper or Snippet 



134 



