Preface 



book are short ones, and each is an attempt 

 to depict the bird as it looks when perched in 

 a tree or during flight. Sometimes the de- 

 scription given may appear to differ from 

 those given in l^he Fauna of British India, or 

 in Jerdon's Birds of India. The reason of the 

 apparent discrepancy is that the descriptions 

 of the birds in these latter books are those of 

 the skins of dead birds, while mine are at- 

 tempts to depict the bird as he appears in 

 the flesh. 



In a few cases I have described birds from 

 memory, and sometimes my memory may 

 have played me false. I shall be most grate- 

 ful to anyone who will be kind enough to 

 point out to me any errors. One of the 

 greatest of the difiiculties I have experienced 

 is to know what birds to insert and what to 

 leave out of this book. It is a key only to the 

 common birds of the plains, and deals with 

 about one-fifth of the feathered inhabitants. 



I have purposely omitted the game birds 

 from my list. These are usually shot at sight ; 

 it is therefore not necessary for me to burden 

 this book with them. There is no lack of good 

 books that enable the sportsman to identify 

 the birds he has shot. I may mention Marshall 



8 



