Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c11.s1.38

c11.s1.38

The parrot (giravā), as in Dravidian art, is often met with; but the giravā paṭṭuva of Pl. XXXV., 2, is exceptional. The flag of Binṭenna is a parrot. The seḷa-lihiṇiya is as much spoken of in Sinhalese poetry, as the nightingale in some English verse; but it is not often used in decorative art; I cannot point to any example, unless it be amongst the birds on Pl. XV. or XIV., 7; but there is a reference to its use in a pottery poem which is quoted in a later chapter.