Falconry in the East. 3575 



taking literally the amusing narrative of the ameer ; or that the word 

 " vulture " with him and with ourselves are not synonymous terms. 



" ' Well, Sahib,' continued the ameer, speaking by jerks, as his 

 breathlessness allowed him, ' one day I flew my beautiful Bahri after 

 a little heron, which we all expected to see killed in a moment. They 

 took the air well together, when, of a sudden, "See the Ukab, Oh, the 

 Ukab ! " cried the bazdar. True enough ! High above us was the 

 wretch, a black dot in the blue sky, looking out like an Affghan, for 

 what he could plunder. We shouted — we waved the lure : unfortu- 

 nately my poor bahri was so eager after her quarry, that nothing could 

 tempt her out of the way of destruction. Then the ukab disappeared 

 from our eyes, and we thought that the maloon* had been frightened 

 by our noise. The falcon and the little heron kept rising and rising, 

 till we lost sight of them also. Presently, by the Prophet's beard I 

 swear to you, Sahib, as we stood looking upwards with straining eyes, 

 a speck appeared like a fly in the air, larger and larger it grew, the 

 instant after, plump fell a body at our feet. It was poor Sohni, my 

 falcon. The accursed vulture had shattered her skull with his foul 

 beak. And since that day I have liberally dispensed kisasf to all his 

 breed."— P. 37. 



One more quotation, and we have done. 



" It was a heart-gladdening spectacle for a sportsman. The pure 

 blue sheet of water, lined with a fringe of vivid green, was literally co- 

 vered with feathered life. The king-curlew with his ruby crown, and 

 the common curlew, so celebrated, despite his homely garb, for the 

 soaring and racing chase he affords, were pacing the bank in busy troops. 

 Gulls and graceful terns hovered over the marsh, here alone in the air, 

 there mingled with flights of red and white Brahminee ducks, wheel- 

 ing about in search of a spot to alight on. The tall saras stood in 

 pairs, now plunging their bills into the shallow water, now scattering 

 pearly drops from their pink throats : the bittern's ruff peeped out of 

 the green weeds, and the snowy white cloak of the paddy-bird glis- 

 tened dazzlingly amongst the russet-coloured uniforms of duck and 

 diver, snipe and snippet, plover and wild goose. Lank herons were 

 there, and stout matronly pelicans gazing stolidly before them, with 

 bustards large as turkeys, and a goodly array of plump little teal; the 

 painted snipe, with beautiful dark colours ornamenting his wings ; the 



* " The cursed, 

 f " The lex talionis, described by Mohammed the Prophet as the very vitality of 

 his amiable faith." 



