TRAINING PIGEONS IN THE EAST. 217 



and return with a flutter it is called churkh, but if the evolution 

 is not performed well enough it is called kataf, and not churkh, 

 and is consequently not reliable. I say that now-a-days kataf is 

 called perch and bal ivarva, and it is bazi when a Pigeon hovers 

 in the air. 



The Sheikh (£. e. Abul Fazl) says that on one occasion many 

 were of opinion that the Pigeon had made two turns or bal, while 

 some of the beholders said that it had remained still in the air. 

 The Emperor thereupon ordered one of its wings to be stained 

 with ink ; and when this was done the wing with the black spot 

 appeared to turn. The Sheikh states that sometimes a Pigeon, 

 while turning and revolving in the air, becomes delirious and falls 

 to the ground, and this falling is called galola, and is considered 

 a defect or infirmity. I say that the Pigeon which perforins a bazi 

 high in the air and turns round is asil, or well-born, and the bazi 

 is called tuncl, which is also a fault. In India the remedy for this 

 is to have the feathers pruned and the bird put into kureez (moult) ; 

 and after this ordeal the bird, through God's omnipotence, will turn 

 out an excellent one, with every accomplishment, flying high and 

 gracefully, making good turns in the air, and performing various 

 feats. The excellence of its flight and skill consists in its making 

 a clear turn in the air, producing a distinct sound with its wings 

 beating against the wind, and not falling to the ground. 



The Sheikh says that sometimes a Pigeon, in the midst of its 

 churkhs, descends downwards through fear, but soon, recovering 

 its senses ere it touches the ground, again rises in the air. I say 

 that sometimes a Pigeon, in imaginary fear of some bird of prey, 

 like the Lughur or Jughur falcons, Bahri (Peregrine), or Ukab 

 (Eagle), descends downwards to save itself, but discovering its 

 mistake, and that it was only a Kite or some other harmless bird, it 

 immediately stops short, and, ere it reaches the ground, turns 

 back into -the air and resumes its flight. 



According to Abul Fazl, some of the Emperor's Pigeons were 

 so clever that they used to make fifteen churkhs and seventy bazi, 

 to the great astonishment of the lookers-on. This is certainly 

 correct. A strong and well-born Vilaiti Pigeon in India can 

 perform fifteen churkhs in a fixed and limited circuit in the air ; 

 but as regards seventy bazi, I do not think any kind of Pigeon at 

 the present day can perform so many, the reason perhaps being 

 that the Kabutar-baz, or Pigeon-keeper, in India is not acquainted 



ZOOLOGIST. — JUNE, 1888. S 



