Note 1 — P (Continued) (continued 2)

Sakuna Pakshi.—For the following note on the Sakuna Pakshi (prophetic bird) mendicant caste of Vizagapatam, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The name of the caste is due to the fact that the members of the caste wear on their heads a plume composed of the feathers of a bird called pālagumma, which is probably Coracias indica, the Indian roller, or “blue jay” of Europeans. This is one of the birds called sakuna pakshi, because they are supposed to possess the power of foretelling events, and on their movements many omens depend. Concerning the roller, Jerdon writes1 that “it is sacred to Siva, who assumed its form, and, at the feast of the Dasserah at Nagpore, one or more used to be liberated by the Rājah, amidst the firing of cannon and musketry, at a grand parade attended by all the officers of the station. Buchanan Hamilton also states that, before the Durga Puja, the Hindus of Calcutta purchase one of these birds, and, at the time when they throw the image of Durga into the river, set it at liberty. It is considered propitious to see it on this day, and those who cannot afford to buy one discharge their matchlocks to put it on the wing.”