The Language of the Modhupur Mandi (Garo), Volume 2

4.43 Birds

Most A˙ chik bird names begin with the categorizing prefix do˙I-. In the Mandi spoken in Modhupur, many names for birds get along without this prefix ( du˙I-, as it is pronounced in Modhupur). This is partly because many bird names have been borrowed from Bengali, but a number of names without du˙I- seem not to be Bengali in origin. Mandis have given me an enormous number of bird names, but I am not enough of an birder to identify these with any confidence, except by very general categories such as 'swallow', 'owl', or 'hawk'. Such identifications as I give rely upon the knowledge of the Mandis and they must be taken as tentative. I believe most of them are correct, but I cannot vouch for every one. The Bengali names were given to me by Mandis and I have transcribed them as my consultants pronounced them, with no attempt to bring them into line with the pronunciation of native Bengali speakers or with Bengali spelling. I did once take a bird book to Modhupur, The Book of Indian Birds by S'alim Ali (1955). I showed the pictures to Mandis who identified as many as they could. The English names that I give with some bird names are taken from this book, as identified by Mandi speakers. No more than in any other area of vocabulary is there complete agreement among Mandis about how the names should be applied, and their identification of the pictures is a long way from authoritative. The English and Bengali names are given only to assist identification, not to give scientifically defensible equivalents. Many birds are known to the Mandis that were not pictured in my bird book, and for many, no Mandi that I asked knew a Bengali equivalent. All I have been able to do in this case is give a clumsy description of the bird.

As in English, bird names attract onomatopoeia. Several bird names imitate, or are felt to imitate, the call of the bird. U-du-a-da is an owl that calls "u-du" at night. "Til-e-reng" is the call of the do˙I-til-eng, a woodpecker.

bit-e-de-o n. a ground-living bird (lapwing, plover).

bok n. king stork, a long billed stork. <B

bok-gip-bok n. largest kind of stork ( bok).

bok-kal-dek n. a small type of black and white stork.

chan-cho-ra cham-cho-ra n. small sparrow-like bird, (grey tit, munia), (Beng. cho-roi).

che-ru-ru, chi-ru-ru n. bird that lives in holes in the ground, smaller than a dove, dark blue or black.

chi-dau-dau n. a black bird that is bigger than a dove.

da-ra-gang-get n. a bird, (rufous-backed strike).

do˙-, do˙-o, do, du˙-, du˙-u, du n. bird; specifically: domestic fowl, more broadly any bird at all. Combining form: do˙-, du˙-. cp. prefix for varieties of birds.

do˙-a-kin-ti, du˙-a-kin-ti n. a small bird that lives in trees.

do˙-a-mik, du˙-a-mik n. ash-colored bird that lives in holes in the ground and that gives a message to people (me-me-me) before kinsmen arrive.

do˙-ang, du˙-ang n. black faced eagle-like bird that associates with me˙-mang (ghosts) and whose cry is a warning of death.

do˙-bak n. bat, the flying mammal.

do˙-bi-ma, du˙-bi-ma n. hen, female bird.

do˙-bi-pa, du˙-bi-pa n. cock, rooster, male bird.

do˙-bil-dok, du˙-bil-dok n. a bright green bird, edible, (blue throated barbet), (Beng. tu-kur).

do˙-bit-bit, du˙-bit-bit n. bird that is larger than a dove and somewhat black, (Beng. bul-bul paki).

do˙-bring, du˙-bring n. wild foul.

do˙-bu-buk n. a kind of bird, (crow-pheasant).

do˙-chi-rong, du˙-chi-rong n. a turmeric colored bird the size of dove, that builds its nest in fork of tree branches, (golden oriole).

do˙-chok, du˙-chok n. a small bird, the size of a chan-cho-ra, with pointed back end, that builds hanging and swinging nests in trees, (Beng. ba-bui pa-ki).

do˙-chong-dang, du˙-chong-dang n. a long-legged ground-living bird slightly smaller than a do˙-grik.

do˙-di, du˙-di n. peacock, (Beng. moi-ur).

do˙-ding-di, du˙-ding-di n. a small dark blue bird the size of a chan-cho-ra that builds a small hanging nest, (purple sun-bird).

do˙-gep, du˙-gep, do˙-gep-gep n. duck.

do˙-grik, du˙-grik n. large ground-dwelling bird, with 'grik' as its call.

do˙-gu-gu, du˙-gu-gu n. wild pigeon, dove, (Beng. ko-bu-tor).

do˙-ja-rak, du˙-ja-rak n. duck, (same as do˙-gep).

do˙-ja-rak gang-si, du˙-ja-rak gang-si n. a type of duck that is larger than an ordinary do˙-ja-rak.

do˙-jeng-gim, du˙-jeng-gim n. a bird the size of a do˙-ma-sik-i that lives in groups.

do˙-jil-ma, du˙-jil-ma n. a common bird that comes in big flocks, a bit black and the size of du˙-ku-ru pigeon.

do˙-ka, du˙-ka n. crow.

do˙-ka-si n. a kind of bird, (grey junglefowl).

do˙-ka-sim-ek, du˙-ka-sa-mek n. a kind of crow, smaller than a do˙-ka, (Beng. chu-to-ka, dar-ka).

do˙-ku-ru, do˙-kru, du˙-ku-ru n. pigeon, dove, joking term for ri-gong penis.

do˙-ku-ru-kal-dek n. smaller variety of dove.

do˙-ku-ru-rong-ru n. larger variety of dove.

do˙-ku-ru-wa˙-sin n. a kind of dove, (emerald or bronze-winged dove).

do˙-ma, du˙-ma n. a long tailed bird, (same as du˙-pa-jong-gol).

do˙-ma-sek-i, du˙-ma-sek-i n. a bird, larger than chan-cho-ra, with white and black on its wings that is more visible when flying; the bird pictured on the two taka Bangladeshi note, (Beng. du-el).

do˙-man-di n. domestic fowl.

do˙-mi-sel, du˙-mi-sel, do˙-mi-sal n. junglefoul, kind of bird in which female has a short tail, male a long one, (Beng. bon-mu-ru).

do˙-pa-jong-gol, du˙-pa-jong-gol n. bird with a long black tail, (pied-crested cuckoo).

do˙-pat-chi, du˙-pat-chi n. swallow, a chan-chora sized bird that flies in circles.

do˙-pi-sa, du˙-pi-sa n. chick, baby bird.

do˙-pin-chep, du˙-pin-chep n. sparrow like bird with nests made from curled up leaves, yellow, with a call sounding like 'chep-chep-chep', (babbler).

do˙-pit, du˙-pit n. a small bird, similar to a chan-cho-ra, (spotted myna).

do˙-po, du˙-pu n. owl, (A˙ chik).

do˙-po-mik-del-ong n. a large-eyed owl.

do˙-po-tot-ting, du˙-pu-tot-ting n. large black owl that lives in trees, (Beng. pe-sa).

do˙-rang-ding n. a small yellow bird, the size of a chan-cho-ra, that flies in high circles.

do˙-reng, du˙-reng n. hawk, kite, a big black bird that soars and then swoops down to get meat, (Beng. chiil).

do˙-reng-chi-jeng n. smallest of three kinds of hawks.

do˙-reng-gan-tong n. largest of three kinds of hawks.

do˙-reng-se-na n. a reddish-colored hawk.

do˙-reng-wal-gu-si, du˙-reng-wal-gu-si n. middle-sized of three kinds of hawks.

do˙-rim-it n. a kind of bird, (chestnut bellied nuthatch).

do˙-sik, du˙-sik n. parakeet that can be trained to talk, with curved red beak and long tail, larger than a do˙-ma-sek-i. Makes holes in trees, (Beng. ti-a pa-ki).

do˙-til-eng, du˙-til-eng n. woodpecker, red, yellow and some black, a bit smaller than a dove.

do˙-tip, du˙-tip n. a very small bird.

ha-rong, a-rong n. heron, (grey heron), (Beng. sa-ros).

hai-gil-a, har-gil-a n. stork, large, gray, long-billed bird that eats fish and eels, as big as a so-gon vulture, (adjutant stork). <B

ho-ri-gol n. wild pigeon, mixed green and yellow-colored bird that eats banyan fruit, (common green pigeon). <B

ku-ru-ak n. red eagle, dives for fish, shrimp, snakes, (Beng. igol pa-ki).

ma-da-gong-gil-ek n. an egg-eating forest-dwelling bird, bigger than common myna.

ma-sul-eng-ga n. kingfisher, small blue bird that catches fish. <B

moi-na n. myna bird, (Beng. sa-me). <B

pe-cha, pe-sa n. owl. <B

pi-prot, pi-prot-ki-sang n. common forest-living bird, bigger than a du-ma-sek-i, colored white, and black or gray, with red rear.

pi-prot-mak-bil n. big variety of pi-prot bird that lives in the forest.

ping-gi-ra n. a black-colored bird that is the size of a dove, (drongo).

po-ki n. bird. <B

sa-ma-po-ki n. a robin-like bird, said to be able to talk, (Beng. sa-ma). <B

se-ru, se-ruk n. any of several kinds of myna birds. <B

se-ru-a-bil-ek n. a kind of myna bird, (grayheaded myna).

se-ru-a˙-pal n. kind of myna with yellow eyes, and habits like an American robin, a bit smaller than the similar common myna.

se-ru-gin-ti n. medium-sized myna.

se-ru-man-di n. common myna bird with yellow eyes and the size and habits of an American robin, lucky bird, (Beng. sal-iik).

so-gon, su-gon n. vulture. <B

u-du-a-da n. a kind of owl that calls u-du at night, (brown fish-owl).

wa˙-ki-chong-prot n. a bird, (hoopoe).