4 Manual of the Game Birds of India. 



wrote, but which appears to me to be 

 quite valid. 



I have tried to write for the sportsman 

 rather than for the naturalist, and I have 

 consequently avoided the use of technical 

 terms. I believe I have employed no 

 term which requires explanation. 



Throughout this work the characters 

 employed for the groups apply equally to 

 the males and females, unless otherwise 

 noted. When I finally arrive at the 

 species, the difference between the male 

 and female, if they differ, is then duly 

 pointed out. 



I have not dealt with the plumage of 

 the immature bird. To have done so 

 would have taken a great deal of space, 

 and to very little purpose, for the plumage 

 of the young is always undergoing a series 

 of changes. Usually the young will be 

 obtained in the company of the parents, 

 and can thus be easily identified. It 

 may be laid down as a general rule that 

 the young male resembles the female 

 parent till such time as it commences to 

 assume the plumage of the adult male. 



The description of the plumage in this 

 volume is generally in considerable detail, 

 but I have not thought it necessary to 

 describe minutely the intricate coloration 



