DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF THE 
COMMON BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 
OF INDIA 
NOTES 
F. stanps for The Fauna of British India, and 
the number which follows indicates the num- 
ber of the bird in The Fauna of British India. 
J. stands for Jerdon’s Birds of India, and the 
number that follows indicates the number of 
the bird in Jerdon’s work. 
In describing a bird its size is a matter of 
importance as an aid to identification ; but as 
the statement that a bird is six inches in length 
probably does not convey to the average person 
a definite idea of its size, I have adopted 
another system of indicating the size of each 
bird described. I have taken five standards of 
size, each being that of a familiar bird, and 
have described each species in terms of these 
standards, which are : 
89 
