184 ' ; , .. 



REVIEW.* 



By W. F. Sinclair (late i.c.s.). 



This volume concludes the series on Indian Vertebrate animals, 

 begun ten years ago with a half volume on Mammalia, whereof some 

 of us are already wishing for a new edition or reprint, with a good full 

 appendix. It deals with " all the game birds, both of land and water," 

 using the word " game " in the widest sense ; and if we had had it on 

 our mess and club tables ( to say nothing of private houses and public 

 institutions) ten years ago, Mr. Gates' new volume on the same groups 

 would be coming in handy now as a sort of second edition or successor, 

 instead of being a very serious competitor in the market. Mr. Blan- 

 ford however has necessarily much to say about birds never classed as 

 •' game " in English, especially the Seafowls and Herons, and may be 

 considered as stepping into the place long and honourably occupied by 

 the third volume of Jerdon's " Birds of India." This must now go " on 

 the shelf " with the " good-bye " due to a retiring veteran " full of 

 years and honours." 



Like that volume, the present begins with the pigeons and doves, 

 taken as an order by themselves, of which all the Indian genera 

 are put into one family, Columhidce, with six subfamilies of admittedly 

 doubtful value. The first are the green pigeons, Crocopus chlorogaster 

 and C. phoinicopterusj of which the former is our Bombay Harial or 

 Pisawa. The Burmese C, viridifrons is treated as only the most 

 marked form of the latter. The years since Jerdon wrote do not seem 

 to have furnished any confirmation of his observation that these birds 

 come to rivers to drink ; and the practice must be very uncommon, 

 occurring perhaps only when they happen to be on a less juicy diet 

 than usual, or on some rare occasion of place or climate. 



In the next genus, Osmotrerov, we seem to have only one bird, the 

 grey fronted green pigeon, 0. ujjinis, This has been hitherto gene- 

 rally called 0. malaharica ; but both the specific names are Jerdon's, 

 and the former the oldest. It is not very well known to Bombay 

 sportsmen, and the native shikaris scarcely distinguish it from the 



" The Fauna of British lucha, 'including Ceylon and Burma. " Published under the autho- 

 rity of the Score ary of State for India in Council. Edited by W. T. Blanford, F.R.g., 

 "Birds," Vol. IV, 1898. 



