Indian Birds 



have led to inevitable confusion. I have, 

 therefore, divided my blues into bright blue, 

 dark blue, and slaty blue. My method is 

 probably inartistic, but it will, I hope, facili- 

 tate the task of identification. 



Again, it is no easy matter to draw the line 

 between greyish and brownish birds, hence 

 I have included some species under both 

 heads. The reader should bear in mind that, 

 while nothing is easier than to identify some 

 birds by their colour, in the case of others 

 colour is at the best a rough guide — one, but 

 only one, of the clues which have to be fol- 

 lowed up before the identity of the species can 

 be established. In the case of Raptorial birds 

 colour is of very little assistance, since the 

 great majority of them are of the same colour, 

 moreover, individuals vary greatly in coloura- 

 tion at different stages of their existence. 



I. BLACK 



I. Biris with a quantity of black in their 

 flumage 



{a) All Black 



1. The Indian Corby (i). 



2. The Raven (2). 



32 



