_INDIAN BIRDS_
_BEING A KEY TO THE COMMON
BIRDS OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA
BY DOUGLAS DEWAR_
_A COMPANION VOLUME TO
THE BIRD VOLUMES OF “THE
FAUNA OF BRITISH INDIA” &
JERDON’S “BIRDS OF INDIA”_
_LONDON: JOHN LANE THE BODLEY HEAD
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMXX_
_2nd Edition_ (_Revised_)
_The Mayflower Press, Plymouth, England._ William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
PREFACE
I fear that the patience of those who have been awaiting this little book
must be well-nigh exhausted, so long has it been in appearing. I began it
two years ago, but had to put it aside during the last few months spent
in India prior to taking furlough, on account of the heavy work the
threatening famine entailed; and when one is on furlough one only works
at the rare times when there is nothing better to do!
The object of this book is to enable people interested in our Indian
birds to identify at sight those they are likely to meet with in their
compounds and during their excursions into the jungle.
There are several good systematic works on Indian ornithology, but the
descriptions in these presuppose that the reader has the specimen in his
hand and is able to examine it leisurely, feather by feather. To do this
it is necessary to kill the bird in question—a procedure which causes
pain to many and gives pleasure to very few. Moreover, unless the seeker
after knowledge has some notion as to the order to which the bird he has
shot belongs, he will find that seeking it out in the four bird volumes
of the _Fauna of British India_ series is a task almost as hopeless as
that of looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.
Eha’s truly admirable book, entitled _The Common Birds of Bombay_, gives
the reader a vivid description of our common Indian birds as they appear
to the field naturalist; and I heartily commend this little masterpiece
to every Anglo-Indian. But even this does not enable the observer to
identify in a few seconds any bird he sees, for it is not written in the
form of a key. The present book is an attempt at a key to the everyday
birds of the plains of India, a dictionary of birds so arranged that the
budding ornithologist is able to turn up any particular bird in a few
minutes. This book is, I believe, the first of its kind that has been
attempted.
The method I have adopted is to classify birds according to their habits
and outward appearance. Every bird has a colour, and most birds possess
some anatomical peculiarity, such as a crest, a long tail, long legs,
etc. Not a few have some easily recognisable habit, such as a peculiar
call or manner of flight. Thus most birds will appear in at least two of
my classes, and so should be easily identified by a process of
elimination. When the reader thinks that he has located a bird he should
turn it up in the descriptive list, which composes Part II of this book,
and this will serve to confirm or correct him in his identification.
Thus, to take a very easy example, the observer while out walking sees a
white bird with a long tail, and a black crested head. Looking through
the lists of birds under (1) those having long tails; (2) those having a
crest; (3) those mainly white, he will find that the Paradise Flycatcher
is the only bird that appears in all three lists. Its number in the
descriptive list is (57). A perusal of entry No. 57 will confirm the
diagnosis, and indicate where illustrations of the bird are to be found.
I venture to hope that this little book will enable any person to learn
in a few weeks to identify nearly all the common birds of his station.
The descriptions given in Part II of the book are short ones, and each is
an attempt to depict the bird as it looks when perched in a tree or
during flight. Sometimes the description given may appear to differ from
those given in _The Fauna of British India_, or in Jerdon’s _Birds of
India_. The reason of the apparent discrepancy is that the descriptions
of the birds in these latter books are those of the skins of dead birds,
while mine are attempts to depict the bird as he appears in the flesh.
In a few cases I have described birds from memory, and sometimes my
memory may have played me false. I shall be most grateful to anyone who
will be kind enough to point out to me any errors. One of the greatest of
the difficulties I have experienced is to know what birds to insert and
what to leave out of this book. It is a key only to the common birds of
the plains, and deals with about one-fifth of the feathered inhabitants.
I have purposely omitted the game birds from my list. These are usually
shot at sight; it is therefore not necessary for me to burden this book
with them. There is no lack of good books that enable the sportsman to
identify the birds he has shot. I may mention Marshall and Hume’s _Game
Birds of India, Burmah, and Ceylon_, with its large number of coloured
plates. This valuable work is out of print; but a copy is to be found in
almost every Indian library. Then there is Stuart Baker’s recently
published _Indian Ducks and their Allies_, which contains excellent
coloured plates of all Indian ducks. Those who cannot afford to purchase
this sumptuous work have in Finn’s _How to know the Indian Ducks_, a safe
and inexpensive guide. The same author’s _How to know the Indian Waders_,
enables the tyro to identify any dead wader. Lastly, there is Le
Messurier’s _Game, Shore, and Water Birds of India_; but this, I fear,
will be found rather technical for most people. I think I have stated
sufficiently clearly my reasons for excluding the majority of game birds
from the present work. It now remains for me to justify the other
omissions.
In order to render it comparatively easy to identify any given bird, it
is necessary that the various classes shall not be too large, and the
only way of securing this desideratum is to exclude all the birds that
are not frequently met with.
Some may think that I have omitted certain 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 collection 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 conjunction 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 identify the uncommon ones and to assign to its proper family an
uncommon bird.
In conclusion, let me advise every one who wishes to “learn his birds” to
procure Eha’s _Common Birds of Bombay_. Most of the species dealt with
therein are common all over the plains.
Those who live in Calcutta will find Cunningham’s _Some Indian Friends
and Acquaintances_, and Finn’s _Birds of Calcutta_ very helpful.
Although I have, in the present work, indicated the distribution of the
various birds dealt with, a local list (where it exists) will be of great
assistance. The following lists have been compiled:
LOCAL LISTS OF BIRDS WHICH HAVE
APPEARED IN THE JOURNAL OF THE
BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
Name of Locality Volume of No. of page
Journal
South Gujerat I 149
North Cachar IX-XIII —
Hylakandy District, Cachar X-XIII —
Gwalior XI 136
North Canara XI & XII 652 & 43
Andaman and Nicobar Islands XII & XIII —
Madhubani Subdivision of the XIII-XVI —
Darbhanga District
Travancore XV & XVI —
Madras XVI 484
Seistan XVI 686
Chindwin, Upper Burma XVIII 78 & 432
Bhamo District, Upper Burma XIX —
LOCAL LISTS OF BIRDS WHICH HAVE
APPEARED IN “STRAY FEATHERS”
Name of Locality Volume of No. of page
_Stray
Feathers_
Sind I 41 & 291
Sambhur Lake I 361
Chota Nagpur II & III 355 & 288
Upper Pegu III 1
Mount Abu and North Gujerat III, IV & V 437, 1, 207
Travancore IV & VII 351 & 33
Region between Mahanadi and Godaveri V 410
rivers
Fureedpur, E. Bengal VII 238
South Konkan IX 1
Deccan and South Mahratta country IX 367
Lucknow Civil Division IX & X 491, 1, 444
Pegu X 175
Western Kandesh X 279
Mauzeerabad, Mysore X 454
Belgaum X 435
Manipur, Assam, Sylhet and Cachar X —
LOCAL LISTS OF BIRDS WHICH HAVE
APPEARED IN “THE IBIS”
Name of Locality Year of No. of page
_Ibis_
Oudh and Kumaun 1861 217
Kattiawar 1873 397
Dacca 1882 84
Central India 1885 52
Bhamo, Upper Burma 1888 70
Calcutta District 1894 39
Lucknow 1902 & 1903 470
Southern Shan States 1901 & 1903 525
Kohat and Kurram 1909 90
LOCAL LISTS OF BIRDS WHICH HAVE
APPEARED IN THE JOURNAL OF THE
ASIATIC SOCIETY, BENGAL
Name of Locality Volume No. of page
Manipur LVIII, Part 235
II
Southern Shan States LXIX, Part 102
II
PREFACE
TO THE SECOND EDITION
The first edition of this work was exhausted a year before I became aware
of the fact, and, as the demand appears to be brisk, I have not caused
further delay by revising the book very thoroughly.
I am under considerable obligation to Mr. G. O. Allen, I.C.S., for his
notes and suggestions. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that the list
of additions and corrections has been almost entirely compiled by him.
It is a source of great satisfaction to me to learn that this little
book, notwithstanding its shortcomings, has enabled many people to learn
the names of the common birds that live around them.
D. DEWAR.
Ghazipur, U.P., India,
1919.
_CONTENTS_
PAGE
Preface 5
Preface to Second Edition 14
PART I
A. Hindustani Names of Common Birds 19
B. Classification According to Structural Peculiarities 23
I. Bills 23
II. Crest 24
III. Legs 25
IV. Tail 26
V. Sexual Dimorphism 29
C. Classification According to Colour 31
I. Black 32
II. Blue 42
III. Brown 44
IV. Coffee or Fawn Colour 52
V. Green 53
VI. Grey 54
VII. Pink 56
VIII. Red 57
IX. White 61
X. Yellow 65
XI. Birds of Many Colours 68
D. Classification According to Habits 69
I. Birds having remarkable cries 70
II. Birds whose nests are likely to be found in any garden in
the plains 75
III. Birds that habitually sit on exposed perches 78
IV. Birds that go about in flocks 79
V. Flight 81
VI. Feeding habits 82
VII. Birds which habitually carry the tail almost vertically 85