INTRODUCTION. 



The present is tlie first volume of a List of Birds in the 

 Indian Museum, on the plan of the Lists of Snakes and of 

 Batrachians already brought out by Mr. W. L. Sclater. 



It has been decided to publish the Hand-List of Birds in 

 parts, owing to the large size of the collection, and to the 

 desire which appears to be felt in India for such a list at an 

 early date. 



The manuscript of the present volume was prepared under 

 the direction of Mr. Sclater before he left India, and my 

 task has therefore been chiefly to see it through the press, 

 after intercalating the numerous accessions since the work 

 was written. Although several more Passerine families have 

 been dealt with in this manuscript, and nearly the whole 

 collection catalogued under my own directions, this instalment 

 deals with the families of Corvidse (Crows) Paradiseidse (Birds 

 of Paradise), Ptilonorhynchidx. (Bower-birds) and Crateropo- 

 didae (Babblers and BuIIduIs) only. 



For, in view of the importance of the last-named group, 

 so characteristic of the Old- World Tropics, in India, of the 

 richness of our collection in types of its species, and of the 

 nevertheless considerable number of our desiderata, it seemed 

 desirable to bring out that part of the List which should deal 

 with it with as little delay as possible. 



I have departed slightly from Mr. Sclater's plan by only 

 giving a single reference for each species — to the Fauna of 

 British India volumes for Indian, and to those of the British 

 Museum Catalogue of Birds for exotic, species. 



The classification followed is of course that of the former 

 work, with the foreign forms represented intercalated as 

 nearly as possible in accordance with that of the latter. This 

 has, of course, given some trouble, especially in a group like 

 the Crateropodidse, about which so much difference of opinion 

 exists. 



