Page:Pre-Aryan Tamil Culture.djvu/74

 The other beasts familiar to the people were aṇil, the squirrel, karaḍi, the bear, kāṭṭā, the wild cow, kīri, the mongoose, kuraṅgu, the monkey, nari, the jakaljackal [sic], śennāi, the wild dog, the nāy, or the kōnāy, the wolf, nīrnāy, the beaver, nāvippiḷḷai, the civet cat, muṭpaṇṛi, the porcupine, maraimān, the yak, muśu, the ape, muyal, the hare, yānai, the elephant.

The chief house-pests were eli the rat, kāreli, the black rat, peruchchāḷi, the bandicoot, mūnjūṛu, the mouse and the ubiquitous mosquito, kośu, which was such a great nuisance as to receive a dozen other names, aśaval, añalam, ulaṅgu, śagal, tummu, tuḷịal, nilambi, nulumbu, noḷḷal, muñal, valu, añal; ī, the house-fly and andu, insect found in stored grain. But the bed bug seems to be an import from abroad, for, it has but a kāraṇappeyar, i.e. mūttaippūcchi, the bundle-insect.

There are many general names for birds paṛavai, kuḍiñai, kurugu, puḷ; their young ones, kuñju, pārppu; the cry of birds payir; their nest, kaṭchi, kuñjuṛai, kuḍambai, kurambai, kūṇḍu. A flock of birds was called thoḻudi, the cries of a flock, tuḻani; the beating of a birds' wings, ośanaittal, puḍaittal; female birds are called peḍai, peṭṭai, pēḍai; the females of birds other than the gallinaceous fowl and the owl, āḷagu; their males except in the case of the peafowl and the eḻāl, śēval; the cock of the peafowl and the eḻāl, pōttu. The food of birds and of some animals irai, uṇḍi, uṛai, ūṭṭi.

The following are names of some species of birds:—anril, nightingale, annam, swan āndai, large eyed owl, uḷḷān, snipe, ūrkkuruvi, sparrow, tūkkaṇāṅguruvi, kavudāri, partridge, kavudam, king-fisher, kaḻugu, eagle, kākkai, crow, nīrkkākkai, a diving water-bird, kāḍai, quail, kiḷi, parrot, kuyil, cuckoo, kurugu, village fowl, also kōḻi, another variety, kūgai, large hooting owl, kokku, stork, śadagam, sky-lark, śichchili, kingfisher, sival, pagaṇḍai, another species of partridge, sembōttu, nārai, heron, parundu, kite, purā, pigeon, mayil, peafowl.

The love of nature and close observation of natural objects which was a great characteristic of the Tamils of ancient times are constantly revealed in early Tamil poems. On later Tamil Poetry the conventions of the later artificial Sanskrit Poetry wielded