Preface 
species that should have been included. In 
anticipation of such criticism I may say that 
I have done my best to deal impartially with 
my feathered friends. I have served in three 
provinces, viz. the United Provinces, Madras, 
and the Punjab, and have spent a little time 
on the Bombay side, and have been largely 
guided by my experience. It is, I admit, quite 
likely that some of the birds I have omitted 
may be very common in certain localities. I 
shall be glad to hear of any such with a view 
to adding them to a second edition should 
that be called for. 
I would emphasise the fact that this book is 
a mere key, and as such is of necessity a col- 
lection of the dry bones of ornithology and 
devoid of any literary merit. The book will lose 
much of its value unless it be used in con- 
junction with other books, such as Jerdon’s 
Birds of India, or the bird volumes of 
the Fauna of British India series, to which 
references are made in the case of every 
species mentioned. The present work is 
primarily a companion to either of the above 
volumes. 
When once the common birds have been 
learned, it becomes comparatively easy to 
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