Douglas Dewar

“ Flycatchers are birds which feed exclusively on insects, which they catch upon the wing. Their habit is to make, from some perch, little sallies into the air after their quarry. It must, however, not be forgotten that birds other than flycatchers, as, for example, the king crow and the wagtails, also hunt for insects in this manner; so that it is not safe to set down a bird as a flycatcher merely because it makes little sallies into the air after insect quarry.
A considerable number of species of flycatcher occur in India, but the great majority of them are confined to the hills. ”

“ It must be remembered that this little book is not a natural history of birds, but merely a key to the identification of our commoner Indian feathered friends. Having identified a bird, the reader should refer to some other writer for information regarding its habits, etc.
In order to simplify identification I shall roughly indicate the distribution of each species. If nothing is said about the distribution of any bird this means that it may be found anywhere in the plains of India. If a species occurs in all parts save one or more the words “Not found in ——” will occur in the description. ”

“ A tiny brownie bird not unlike a wren with a respectable tail. Close inspection shows that the forehead is reddish, the back of the head grey, and the back brown, tinged with green. The lower plumage is dirty creamy white. There is a short black bar on each side of the neck, visible only when the bird stretches its neck to utter its note, but as the bird is continually calling loudly to-wee, to-wee, to-wee, a little watching will soon reveal the black patch on the side of the neck.
In the hot weather the two middle tail feathers of the cock exceed the others in length by fully two inches. ”

“ In India, wherever there are rivers, jhils, or ponds there are terns to be found.
Their prevailing colour is white, and most of them have some black in their plumage.
To repeat what I said in Bombay Ducks: “No one can fail to recognise a tern. If you see a slenderly-built bird of whitish tinge, with long swallow-like wings and forked tail, a bird which sails along easily over water, sometimes diving for a fish, more frequently picking something off the surface of the water, you may set that bird down as a tern.” ”

“ The feathers of the head are black with a grey border, so that the head looks grey when the bird first reaches India in the autumn, but gets blacker as the grey edges of the feathers become worn away. The back and shoulders are rich chestnut, the wings and tail are brown, the cheeks and lower plumage are deep bright yellow. ”

“ It is a greenish-brown bird with white under parts. Its legs are not long for a wader; its bill is about an inch long. It goes about in ones or twos (never in flocks) , picking up insects on the water’s edge. When disturbed it flies away, and then its wings, which are pointed, show a very narrow white band. By this you may recognise the species. It flies low, and as Eha remarks, with its wings bent like a bow. When it settles down it wags its apology for a tail in wagtail-like manner. ”

“ 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 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 [7] 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. ”

“ It is an earthy brown bird. The outer tail feathers are black with white tips. The bill is cherry-red; this, perhaps, is the reason why Indians call the bird Jangli tota. Like the crow-pheasant it builds a nest.
The Green Parrots, 132-134
Every dweller in India must be familiar with these noisy birds, both in the captive and the wild state. They go about in small flocks, looking like “live emeralds in the sun,” and uttering loud screams and harsh cries. During flight they turn from side to side “like badly balanced arrows.” They nestle in holes in trees or buildings. ”

“ They are distinguished by the fact that their head and neck are destitute of feathers. A large bird of prey with bare head and neck is undoubtedly a vulture.
Vultures, as everyone knows, stay for hours floating on outstretched wings high up in the air, looking out for dead animals. Kites and other birds of prey remain for long periods on the wing; they, too, can sail and soar, but they do not literally hang in the air as the vultures do. As these latter float in the air it will be observed that their wings project straight out at right angles to the body. ”

“ It visits the Punjab in great numbers in summer for nesting purposes. The nest is like an inverted cone in shape, and is usually placed on one of the lower branches of a tree. The white cock shares the duties of incubation, and as he sits, his long white tail feathers hang down several inches beyond the bottom of the nest.
The bird frequently utters a sharp note something like the twitter of a sparrow. The cock has also a sweet little song.
In Burma this species is replaced by an allied species—the Burmese Paradise Flycatcher (T. affinis) . ”

“ When seeking for food, however, nothing is easier than to identify the osprey. Like the pied kingfisher the great bird poises itself in the air on quivering wings high above the water. Suddenly its wings close and it drops down like a falling stone and disappears into the water with a huge splash, to emerge a second or two later with a fish in its talons.
In the cold weather the osprey is to be seen [177] in most places where there are large jhils or backwaters.
The Vultures, 141-145
These are huge birds of prey which feed exclusively on carrion. ”

“ This is a curious pale ruddy-brown bird, whitish on the head. Tail and wings black. Bill, legs, and feet blackish.
This handsome duck is a winter visitor to India. It is very abundant in N. India, less abundant in S. India, not being found at all on the Malabar coast. It invariably goes about in pairs, which dwell in rivers rather than in tanks. They are wary birds and a great nuisance to sportsmen, since they warn other water-fowl of danger. ”

“ The head and nape are rich chocolate brown, as is the abdomen. The back, tail, and wings are bright blue. During flight the wings display a very conspicuous white band. The chin, throat, and breast are white. The bill is dark red, and the feet bright red. It is impossible to mistake this bird; a rapidly flying, bright blue bird, with white wing bars, which emits a loud scream, is without doubt this species. ”

“ When once the common birds have been learned, it becomes comparatively easy to [11] 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. ”

“ The ordinary man will doubtless be satisfied to call them all harriers.
Harriers are cold-weather visitors to India. They are striking-looking birds with long wings. They fly low, only a few inches above the level of the ground, ever on the look out for a lizard, a mouse, an insect, or even a small bird. They are larger than crows and smaller than kites. They hunt over fields and marshes, and are not seen in towns, but those who shoot must be familiar with them. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The eye is red, and the upper lid is fringed with eyelashes which add still further to the oddity of the bird’s appearance.”
The nesting habits of these birds are curious. They nestle in holes in trees. When the eggs are laid the hen goes into the hole, the entrance to which is plastered up by the cock and hen until the orifice is only just large enough to allow of the insertion of the beak. Thus the hen remains a voluntary prisoner until the young are ready to leave the nest, the cock bringing food to her. ”

“ A dull-coloured bird like a wagtail in shape, but with a shorter tail, which it sometimes wags in a half-hearted manner.
The upper parts are earthy brown with dark streaks. The lower parts are creamy white with black streaks. There is a little white in the tail, visible only during flight. It feeds on the ground, but takes refuge in a tree when disturbed. It frequently goes about in flocks. There is nothing striking in its appearance or habits, and so it is not easy to describe satisfactorily. ”

“ The rump and the feathers over the tail are reddish chestnut. The abdomen is orange-red. All the feathers of the tail are reddish except the two median ones, which are brown.
Hen: Reddish brown when the cock is grey or black; otherwise like the cock, except that the red in her plumage is duller.
[129]
The redstart is an easy bird to identify, it behaves as though it had St. Vitus’ dance in the tail. As it flies away all the red in its plumage shows, so that the bird looks like a ball of fire. It feeds largely on the ground, taking cover in bushes when alarmed. It frequents gardens. ”

“ This beautiful little bird, which is barely two-thirds the size of the sparrow, is frequently caged. The upper plumage and wings are light green, brighter in the cock than in the hen; the tail is black, the lower parts are yellow, brighter in the cock than in the hen. ”

“ A dull inconspicuous brown bird. It frequents buildings and is robin-like in its habits. As it hops about it continually bobs its head. The cock sings a sweet little lay. The nest is made up of dried grass and placed in a niche or on a ledge in an outhouse, or a mosque, or even an inhabited room. It is made of dried grass and roots, and falls to pieces if lifted from its foundation. The eggs are pale blue blotched with reddish yellow.
Found in Punjab, Rajputana, U. P., and C. P.; very common at Lahore. ”

“ This is the commonest vulture in India. It is very dark grey, almost black. The naked head is rather lighter than the rest of the body. The lower back is white, and this makes the bird easy to identify. It has some white in the wings, and this during flight is visible as a broad white band that runs from the body nearly to the tip of the wing. ”

“ Colour affords the easiest means of identifying the great majority of birds, but in many cases the colours displayed, although conspicuous and easily recognised, are not of a nature to admit of strict classification. Take, for example, the blues—various species display almost every known shade from slaty grey to turquoise, from purple to ultramarine and indigo. ”

“ General hue green, shot with bronze; the tail is bluish. There is a broad black streak running through the eye. The chin is a dirty cream colour. The throat is chestnut-red. The eye is bright red.
This species is a larger and less beautiful edition of No. 116. Like the latter it undergoes partial migration, being a summer visitor to N. India and a winter visitor to S. India. One sees large numbers of these birds when out snipe shooting in Madras. They perch on the bands between the flooded fields and make sallies into the air after insects. ”

“ The three common Indian species are chiefly grey in colour. They never perch in trees, but rest and nest on the ground. When they fly they carry the neck and feet stretched out straight. When they fly in company the flight takes a V-shaped form, like that of a flight of geese.
177. Grus communis: The Common Crane. (F. 1407) , (J. 865) , (+V; about twice the size of a kite.)
This bird is the coolung of sportsmen. Its general colour is dark French grey. Its head is almost devoid of feathers, and there is a square, dark red patch of skin across the back of the head. ”

“ When the bird is disturbed and when it flies the crest is expanded like a fan. Almost every lawn in India forms the feeding-ground for at least one pair of hoopoes. Hoopoes nest in holes in trees or in the walls of buildings.
123. Upupa indica: The Indian Hoopoe. (F. 1067) , (J. 255) , (III.)
Head and body fawn-coloured. Wings and tail white with very broad black bars. The beak is 21⁄2 inches long, and the legs are very short. The feathers of the crest have black tips. ”

“ Numbers of them are to be seen on the muddy edges of the Coum at Madras, but they have to be looked for, since from a little distance they assimilate closely to the hue of the mudbanks on which they disport themselves. They are not much bigger than sparrows, but are pretty little birds. Two species are common. ”