618 ANNUAL EEPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION^ 1908. 



Still greater is the contrast between English and Indian birds. The 

 latter are to the former as wine is to water. 



India is peculiarly rich in birds of character. It is the happy hunt- 

 ing ground of that unique fowl, Gorvus splendens — the splendid 

 crow — splendid in sagacity, resource, adaptiveness, boldness, cunning, 

 and depravity — a veritable Machiavelli among birds. I might almost 

 say a super-bird. 



The king crow {Dicrurus ater) is another creature wdiich can be 

 described only by superlatives. He is the Black Prince of the bird 

 kingdom — the embodiment of pluck. The thing in feathers of which 

 he is afraid has yet to be evolved. Like the mediaeval knight, he 

 goes about seeking those upon whom he can perform some small feat 

 of arms. In certain parts of India he is known as the " Kotwal " — 

 the official who to many stands forth as the embodiment of the might 

 and majesty of the British raj. 



When we turn to consider the more outward characteristics of birds, 

 the peacock {Pavo cristatns), the monal pheasant {Lophopkorus 

 refulgens), the so-called "blue jay" {Coracias indica), the oriole 

 {Oriolus hundoo)^ the white-breasted kingfisher {Halcyon smyrnen- 

 sis)j the sunbird {ArachnecMhra zeylonica), the little green bee-eater 

 {Mero])s viridis), and a host of others rise up before us. Of these 

 some, showily resplendent, compel attention and admiration; others, 

 of quieter hues, possess a beauty which can not be appreciated unless 

 they be held in the hand and minutely examined, for each of their 

 feathers is a poem of exquisite beauty. 



At the other extreme stands the superlative of avian hideousness, 

 the ugliest bird in the world — Neophron ginginianus, the scavenger 

 vulture. The bill, the naked face, and the legs of this creature are 

 a sickly yellow. Its plumage is dirty white, with the exception of 

 the ends of the wdng feathers, which are a shabby black. Its shape 

 is displeasing to the eye ; its gait is an ungainly waddle. Neverthe- 

 less, such is the magic of wings, even this fowl looks almost beautiful 

 as it sails, on outstretched pinions, high in the heavens. 



THE HOKNBILL. 



Between the extremely beautiful and the extremely ugly birds we 

 meet with another class having superlative attributes — ^the extremely 

 grotesque. This class is well represented in India. The great horn- 

 bill {Dichoceros hicoimis) and the adjutant {Leptoptilus duhh/s) are 

 birds which would take prizes in any exhibition of oddities. The 

 former is nearly 4^ feet in length. The body is only 14 inches long, 

 being an insignificant part of the bird, a mere connecting link between 

 the massive beak and the great loosely-inserted tail. The beak is 

 nearly a foot in length, and is rendered more conspicuous than it 



