A History of Agriculture in India v2.c80.s2: Jahangir’s Observations on Birds
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c80.s2
- Language
- English
Jahangir’s Observations on Birds
v2.c80.s2.1
One of Jahangir’s chief retainers was Muqarrab Khan. Jahangir deputed him to go to the port of Goa and buy rare birds and animals from the Portuguese, regardless of cost. One of these rarities was the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). Describing it Jahangir states, ‘It is larger than a peahen and smaller than a peacock. When it is in heat and displays itself, it spreads out its feathers like the peacock and dances about. Its beak and legs are like those of a cock. Its head and neck and the part under the throat are every minute of a different colour. When it is in heat it is quite red—one might say it had adorned itself with red coral—and after a while it becomes white in the same places, and looks like cotton. It sometimes looks of a turquoise colour. Like a chameleon it constantly changes colour. Two pieces of flesh it has on its head look like the comb of a cock. A strange thing is this, that when it is in heat the aforesaid piece of flesh hangs down to the length of a span from the top of its head like an elephant’s trunk, and again when he raises it up it appears on its head like the horn of a rhinoceros, to the extent of two finger-breadths. Round its eyes it is always of a turquoise colour, and does not change. Its feathers appear to be of various colours, differing from the colours of the peacock’s feathers.’²
v2.c80.s2.2
² Rogers, Alexander (tr.), Beveridge, Henry (ed.), The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri or Memoirs of Jahangir, pp. 215, 216
v2.c80.s2.3
Jahangir not only recorded his observations on rare birds, animals and plants, but also got them painted. His most talented painter of plants, birds and animals was Mansur, who conveys in his paintings something of the spirit of plants and the character of the birds and animals. Mansur was a diligent worker and painted more than a hundred flowering plants of Kashmir and numerous pheasants, peacocks, ducks and herons. He also painted the turkey brought by Muqarrab Khan. It is a remarkable painting showing this bird dancing with its tail feathers spread like a fan (Fig. 47).
v2.c80.s2.4
Among Mansur’s other works is a painting of Dodo (*Raphus cuculatus*), a flightless bird of Madagascar, which was presented to Jahangir by the British factors of East India Company’s factory in Surat. This bird became extinct in 1681.
v2.c80.s2.5
Other paintings of birds by Mughal artists show a cassowary, a falcon, an *asil* cock and another fighting cock with large spurs (Fig. 48).