XiX 



ground thrush, and the bhimraj visited 

 England in the summer, they would soon 

 supplant in popular favour some of our 

 British song-birds." 



As a laro^e number of Indian sonofs- 

 ters is found in Bengal, the present volume 

 is devoted to these song-birds, the sub- 

 sequent volumes being reserved for the 

 talkino:, fiofhtinof, and miscellaneous birds 

 kept for show etc. I have not, however, 

 confined myself wholly to the cage-habits 

 of these birds, and this volume should not 

 be regarded as a book exclusively on 

 aviculture. Several Indian cage-birds are 

 liked and caged by aviculturists in Europe, 

 who thus become acquainted with their 

 cage-life, but lack information about them 

 in their wild state. I have attempted to 

 deal in detail with this feature from direct 

 •field observation ; at the same time, I have 

 put in facts regarding cage-life supplemen- 

 ting my own experience by the results 

 of observations made by European avi- 

 culturists in their bird- rooms. All the 



