GLOSSARY
| Arhar. |
A leguminous crop plant which attains a height of four
feet or more. |
| Chik. |
A curtain composed of a number of very thin strips of
wood. Chiks are hung in front of doors and windows in India with
the object of keeping out insects, but not air. |
| Holi. |
A Hindu festival. |
| Jhil. |
A lake or any natural depression which is filled with
rain-water at all or in certain seasons. |
| Kharif. |
Autumn. Rice and other crops which are reaped in
autumn are called kharif crops. Crops such as wheat which are
cut in spring are called rabi crops. Two crops (sometimes
three) are raised in India annually. |
| Megas. |
Sugar-cane from which the juice has been extracted. |
| Rabi. |
Spring. See Kharif. |
| Shikari. |
One who goes hunting or shooting. |
| Tope. |
A term applied to a grove of mango trees, artificially
planted. Thousands of such topes exist in Northern India. In
some places they are quite a feature of the landscape. |
INDEX
Amadavat.
See
Babbler, common (
Crateropus canorus
),
—large grey (
Argya malcomi
),
Barbet, green (
Thereiceryx zeylonicus
),
Baya.
See
Bee-eater,
—blue-tailed (
Merops philippinus
),
—little green (
M. viridis
),
Blue Jay.
See
Blue-throat,
Brain-fever bird.
See
Bulbul,
—Bengal (
Molpastes bengalensis
),
—black (
Hypsipetes psaroides
),
—red-whiskered (
Otocompsa emeria
),
Bunting,
—black-headed (
Emberiza melanocephala
),
—pine (
Emberiza leucocephala
),
—red-headed (
Emberiza luteola
),
Buzzard,
—long-legged (
Buteo ferox
),
—white-eyed (
Butastur teesa
),
Chat,
—brown-rock (
Cercomela fuscus
),
—dark grey bush (
Oreicola ferrea
),
—Indian bush (
Pratincola maura
),
—pied bush (
Pratincola caprata
),
Coot, common (
Fulica atra
),
—purple (
Porphyrio poliocephalus
),
Coppersmith or crimson-breasted barbet (
Xantholaema
haematocephala
),
Cormorant,
Crane,
—demoiselle (
Anthropoides virgo
),
—sarus (
Grus antigone
),
Creeper, wall,
Crow,
—black, or jungle crow or corby (
Corvus macrorhynchus
),
—house (
Corvus splendens
),
Crow-pheasant or coucal (
Centropus sinensis
),
Cuckoo, European (
Cuculus canorus
),
—hawk (
Hierococcyx varius
),
—Indian (
Cuculus micropterus
),
—pied crested (
Coccystes jacobinus
),