PREFACE. V 



previous neglect of the splendid bird by those 

 naturalists who have already served their time 

 in the Gorgeous East. 



Is it titting, nay, is it decent, that the Ckow 

 who forms part and parcel of human existence 

 in the Land of Regrets, should have no book 

 he can call his own, no scroll upon which his 

 doughty deeds are writ large ? 



Horses — ^noble creatui'es, dogs — dear things, 

 cats — obnoxious quadrupeds, pigeons — self- 

 satisfied birds, fowls — estimable beings, and 

 even whales — un wieldly monsters, have books 

 devoted exclusively to them. 



Much more then should the Indian crow 

 have his book. — Q.E.D. 



Lovers of the crow will doubtless read and 

 cherish this booklet. Those who love not the 

 '* treble-dated" bird will find in this brochure 

 a most convenient missile to hurl at the offend- 



