PREFACE. V 



been made to the volumes already published. But, above all, 

 Mr. Hume brought together, chiefly in about ten years (from 

 1872 to 1882), a collection of Indian birds from all parts of 

 the country far superior to any ever before accumulated ; 

 indeed it is doubtful whether an equally complete collection 

 has ever before been made, from a similar area, in any branch 

 of Zoology or Botany. The whole of this collection, 

 amounting to 60,000 skins, besides a very large number 

 of nests and eggs, has now been presented by Mr. Hume 

 to the British Museum ; and as the same building contains 

 the collections of Colonel Sykes, the Marquis of Tweeddale 

 (Viscount Walden), Mr. Gould, and, above all, of Mr. 

 Hodgson, the opportunities now offered for the study of 

 Indian birds in London are far superior to those that have 

 ever been presented to students in India. Every facility has 

 been afforded to Mr. Gates by the officers of the British 

 Museum for studying the superb series of Indian birds now 

 in the National Collection. 



It must be left to naturalists in India to judge how far 

 Mr. Gates has succeeded in accomplishing the task that he 

 has undertaken. This task, though greatly facilitated by 

 the collected specimens and information, is still far from easy ; 

 for, in works like the present, it is not sufficient to have 

 access to the necessary data, the facts known require to be 

 so arranged as to be easily understood and available for 

 ready reference. If the present work complies with these 

 conditions, it is to be hoped that the study of Ornithology 

 not only in India, but throughout the Oriental Regiou, may 

 benefit as much as it unquestionably did by the appearance 

 of Jerdon's ( Birds of India/ 



In one respect the volume now published falls short of the 

 work just named. The limits assigned to the number and 

 size of the volumes in the ' Fauna of British India/ limits 



