Indian Birds 
have led to inevitable confusion. I have, 
therefore, divided my blues into bright blue, 
dark blue, and slaty blue. My method is 
probably inartistic, but it will, I hope, facili- 
tate the task of identification. 
Again, it is no easy matter to draw the line 
between greyish and brownish birds, hence 
I have included some species under both 
heads. The reader should bear in mind that, 
while nothing is easier than to identify some 
birds by their colour, in the case of others 
colour is at the best a rough guide—one, but 
only one, of the clues which have to be fol- 
lowed up before the identity of the species can 
be established. In the case of Raptorial birds 
colour is of very little assistance, since the 
great majority of them are of the same colour, 
moreover, individuals vary greatly in coloura- 
tion at different stages of their existence. 
I. BLACK 
1. Birds with a quantity of black in their 
plumage 
(a) All Black 
1. The Indian Corby (1). 
2. The Raven (2). 
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