THE FOOD OF THE ROSY PASTOR OR JOWARI BIRD. 67 



hence called th8 ' Mulberry-bird ' in the north-west, disappearing afterwards. They at times, 

 however, feed much on insects, and are called the ' locust-eater' in Persia, according to 

 Chesney. They do not breed in this country, quitting the south of India in March, but 

 lingering in the north a month or so longer. It is ascertained that they breed in vast 

 numbers in Syria and other'parts of Western Asia, in rocky cliffs. Burgess states his belief 

 that they breed in India somewhere, and was informed by a native that they do breed in the 

 Grhats. This however is, doubtless, totally without foundation. Mr. Layard states that one 

 year he saw large flocks of these birds in July, that they remained only a week, and then 

 disappeared. They were entirely unknown to the Natives. Burgess also states that in 1850, 

 towards the end of August, he saw a large flock of the rose-coloured starlings feeding on 

 insects in an open field. These instances of their appearing so early are very unusual, and 

 more especially tbeir occurrence in Ceylon in July, by which time the young could only have 

 been just fairly fledged." 



Mr. M. F. O'Dwyer, Settlement Collector of Gujranwala, quotes an interest- 

 ing Hindoo legend, to the effect that in response to the prayers of the people, 

 the locusts have been imprisoned in a deep valley, surrounded by impenetra- 

 ble mountains in the west of the Himalayas. The exits from this valley 

 are guarded by Tilliars (rosy pastors), commissioned by heaven for the 

 purpose. Now and then, when the sentinels fail in their duty of watch and 

 ward, the locusts escape and are hotly pursued by the Tilliars, who, unable 

 to drive them back to their prison in the hills, slay them wholesale. 



The origin of this legend is supposed to be the fact that the locusts and 

 Tilliars generally arrive in G-ujranwala from the direction of the hills at 

 about the same time in the spring. It has been noticed also that, when the 

 locusts enter a grain field, the Tilliars do not pursue them into it, but station 

 themselves all round its borders and kill the locusts as they issue forth. 



The following are abstracts of the information that has been received upon 

 the subject of this bird :— 



The locusts in parts of Sind in 1889-90 were reported to have been exterminated by joioari 

 birds, which did not attempt to eat the locusts, but snipped them in two and left them. In 

 Khandesh also, in 1883, the joivari bird or rosy pastor was mentioned by Mr. Ommanney as a 

 great enemy of the locusts. 1 (Annual Report, Director of Land Eecords and Agriculture, 

 Eombay, 1889-90.) 



1 The locusts referred to by Mr. Ommanney probably belonged to the species Acridium 

 succinctum, Linn., which invaded the whole of the Bombay, Deccan and Konkan in the 

 years 1882-83. 



Specimens of the Bosy pastor (Pastor roseus) were forwarded (8th September, 1891) by 

 Dr. F. Chand, Civil Surgeon, Gujranwala, as very effectual in destroying locusts. 



The Deputy Commissioner, Dera Ismail Khan, wrote (1st September, 1891) that Sanch is 

 believed to be the Yusafzai-Pashtu for a starling known as Tllliar in Hindi and SiroMa in 

 Pashtu. He noted that the bird eats, or rather destroys, locusts in a most voracious manner. 



On 7th October, 1891, specimens of the Sanch bird, said to have destroyed a large number of 

 locusts in the Bannu district, were forwarded to the Indian Museum by the Director of Land 

 Eecords and Agriculture, Punjab. They were identified by Mr. W, L, Sclater as belonging 

 to the species Pastor roseus, Linn. (Bosy pastor). 



The Acting Deputy Commissioner of Thar and Parkar, Sind, reports (21st December, 1891) 

 that the jowari birds have very materially assisted in clearing the district of locusts. 



The Deputy Commissioner, Lahore, notices that the Naib Muhafiz Daftar of Peshawar 

 informs him that Sanch is the Pathan name for the bird known in Lahore as Tilliar (Rosy 

 pastor). 



