PREFACE vil 
constituting good species or subspecies, the former if they are not 
linked to one another by individuals which are intermediate, the latter 
if they are so linked. At the same time I have not gone out of my 
way to hunt for minute differences in tint or in measurements, but 
have merely admitted them when they are too plain to be over- 
looked. 
In regard to nomenclature I have accepted the rules laid down 
by the latest International Zoological Congress and take my names 
according to strict priority and with effect from the date of the tenth 
edition of Linnaeus. 
In following accepted rules it is impossible to avoid tautonomy : 
I am therefore compelled to show the bird first described of the 
various subspecies with its specific name duplicated. Thus it is 
imperative to name the Bengal Green Pigeon Crocopus phoenicopterus 
phoenicopterus, instead of C. p. typicus, and the geographical variations 
or subspecies must be called C. p. viridifrons and C. p. chlorogaster. 
In classification generally I have adhered as closely as possible 
to that of Blanford in the Fauna of British India series, though this 
is, to some extent, altered by the use of the trinomial system and by 
the fact that a few other forms have had to be added to his list. 
An attempt has been made in the following chapters to collate, 
as far as possible, all information recorded up to date, and to add as 
many sporting and field notes as have been obtainable, together with 
a certain amount of original matter. Original matter, however, of 
this nature is very hard to obtain before a book is written, but it is 
to be hoped that once written and published readers will not be slow 
to become writers also and to add their quota of knowledge to that 
which has been previously recorded, whilst others may well be able 
to show where the present volume is incomplete or incorrect. 
The total number of species and subspecies dealt with in this 
work is fifty-one, Blanford having recognized forty-five of them as 
good species. 
The books referred to in the list of synonyms do not include all 
works of reference, for, as far as possible, only those have been 
noted which refer to the birds as occurring in India, with the addition 
from time to time of those which contain matter of importance to 
readers in India, such as the book in which the bird itself, or any- 
thing of importance concerning it, is first mentioned or described ; 
