Chapter VII: Part II: Descriptive List of the Common Birds of the Plains of India (3)

The young are very like the common kite in appearance, but may be distinguished when on the wing by the fact that the tail of the Brahminy is always rounded, while that of the kite is more or less forked.

This species is rare in the Punjab, common everywhere else. In Madras it sometimes swoops down and carries off a snipe that has been shot by a sportsman. Its cry is a peculiar squeaking wail. (Illus. B. D., p. 190.)

152. _Milvus govinda_: The Common Pariah Kite. (F. 1229), (J. 56), (V.)

Description of this ubiquitous bird is unnecessary. His long tail, slightly forked at the tip, suffices to distinguish him at a glance from all other raptorial birds. (Illus. B. D., p. 182; also B. P., p. 148.)

153. _Circus macrurus_: The Pale Harrier. (F. 1233), (J. 51), (+IV.)

154. _Circus cineraceus_: Montagu’s Harrier. (F. 1234), (J. 52), (+IV.)

155. _Circus cyaneus_: The Hen Harrier. (F. 1235), (J. 50), (-V.)

156. _Circus melanoleucus_: The Pied Harrier. (F. 1236), (J. 53), (+IV.)

157. _Circus æruginosus_: The Marsh Harrier. (F. 1237), (J. 54), (-V.)

I shall not attempt to describe these birds, as, although it may be possible to tell the male birds apart, the hens are so alike that to distinguish them is no easy matter. 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. (Illus. B. B., p. 15.)

158. _Astur badius_: The Shikra. (F. 1244), (J. 23), (+III.)

This is one of the most familiar birds of prey. It is considerably smaller than the common house crow. Its upper plumage is ashy grey. The tail is of the same hue, but with broad black cross bars. The breast is pale rust colour, with a number of thin wavy white cross bars. The eye is bright yellow, as is the cere or base of the beak. It is very like the Brain-fever Bird in appearance. It often hunts for its quarry in the neighbourhood of trees. Its method is to make a short quick dash. Natives of India very frequently train this bird to hawk quail and mynas. Its note is a sharp double whistle.

159. _Accipiter nisus_: The Sparrow-Hawk. (F. 1247), (J. 24), (+III.)

This species, which is a cold-weather visitor to India, is very like No. 158 in habits and appearance. It is, however, characterised by having long legs. It is bolder and swifter in its movements. (Illus. B. D., p. 84; also B. B., p. 21.)

160. _Falco jugger_: The Laggar Falcon. (F. 1257), (J. 11), (+III.)

Several species of falcon occur in India. This one is, I think, the commonest.

It is a brownish bird barred and spotted all over with white. It looks like a large sparrow-hawk with long pointed wings. But it does not make one dash at its prey after the manner of the sparrow-hawk; it is a strong flier and settles down to a long chase in the open country. Its eyes are dark. Natives call falcons dark-eyed hawks, and sparrow-hawks light-eyed hawks.

161. _Æsalon chicquera_: The Turumti, or Red-headed Merlin. (F. 1264), (J. 16), (+III.)

Head and a stripe on the cheek chestnut. Back and tail grey barred with dark brown; under parts whitish with black streaks and bars.

This species lives largely on small birds and often hunts in couples.

162. _Tinnunculus alaudaris_: The Kestrel; the English “Windhover.” (F. 1265), (J. 17), (+III.)

Head, neck, and tail grey, back and wings brick-red. Lower parts cream-coloured spotted with brown. The red back makes the bird easy to identify, as does its method of hunting its quarry. It flies over the open country, and every now and then hovers on rapidly vibrating wings over some spot where it thinks it espies some lizard or other animal. If there is an animal there it drops quietly on it, otherwise it passes on and hovers elsewhere.

It is a winter visitor to the plains of India.

_The Green Pigeons_, 163-164

These beautiful birds are strictly arboreal. They go about in small companies, but so closely do they assimilate in colour to their leafy surroundings that it is difficult to make them out. They feed exclusively on fruit.

163. _Crocopus phœnicopterus_: The Bengal Green Pigeon. (F. 1271), (J. 772), (+III.)

A bright yellowish-green bird. Head, lower breast, and tail dove colour. Some lilac and a yellow bar on the wing. Legs orange-yellow.

Found in the Eastern Punjab, U. P., and Bengal. In the Punjab, U. P., and the whole of the peninsula of India is found the next species.

164. _Crocopus chlorogaster_: The Southern Green Pigeon. (F. 1272), (J. 773), (+II.)

This is so like No. 163 that it seems scarcely deserving of specific rank. It differs only in having the lower breast green instead of grey.

165. _Columba intermedia_: The Indian Blue Rock Pigeon. (F. 1292), (J. 788), (+III.)

This familiar bird scarcely needs description. It is the common _Kabutar_. It is a bluish-grey bird (light slate colour) with two broad black bars across the wing. The tip of the tail is black; legs red.

Found all over India. In the Punjab this species meets an allied form—_Columba livia_—which is distinguished by the fact that its lower back is white instead of slaty grey.

_The Doves_, 166-169

Every one is well acquainted with these familiar birds, so that a general description of them is unnecessary. The four species most commonly seen in India are:

166. _Turtur suratensis_: The Spotted Dove. (F. 1307), (J. 795), (III.)

A reddish-grey bird. The sides of the neck are black with a number of small white spots. The two median pairs of tail feathers are brown, and the others black with white tips.

Its note is a plaintive _cūkoo-coo-coo_. Like the other three species of dove this species is widely distributed, but is very capricious in its distribution.

It is very common in Calcutta, Madras, Travancore, Tirhoot, and Lucknow, but does not occur at Lahore, Bombay, or in the Deccan.

It is easily distinguished from the other doves by its black tippet. (Illus. F. IV., p. 1; also B. C., p. 123, and B. D., p. 8.)

167. _Turtur cambayensis_: The Little Brown Dove. (F. 1309), (J. 794), (-III; midway between the bulbul and myna in size.)

This pretty little dove often nests in the verandah, building on the rolled-up _chiks_.

Eha thus describes it: “Of an earthy brown colour, passing into slaty grey on the wings and tail, and tinged on the head, neck, and breast with that tender tint peculiar to doves, which the natural history books call ‘vinaceous,’ like a faded claret stain on the tablecloth. On each side of the neck there is a miniature chessboard in red and black. The feet are red.” Its call is composed of quite a little tune—a soft, subdued, musical _cuk-cuk-coo-coo-coo_.

This dove is capriciously distributed. It is common in the Punjab, U. P., Deccan, Bombay, but absent in Lower Bengal and the Malabar coast.

168. _Turtur risorius_: The Indian Ring Dove. (F. 1310), (J. 796), (+III.)

This bird is a light French grey. It is distinguishable from Nos. 166 and 167 by its paler hue and by the possession of a black collar with a narrow white border round the back of the neck. Its note is a _ku-ku—kū_.

It is common in the Punjab, U. P., and the Deccan. It is found in Assam and S. India on the East, but not on the West Coast, nor in Lower Bengal.

169. _Œnopopelia tranquebarica_: The Red Turtle Dove. (F. 1311), (J. 797), (II.)

This is the smallest of the doves, and is not nearly so abundant as the other three species. In the U. P. it is a permanent resident, but in the Punjab merely a summer emigrant. It certainly is not common in most parts of South India. It is remarkable in that the cock and hen differ in appearance.

The cock is a rust-coloured bird with a black collar round the back of his neck, and reddish wings.

The hen lacks the red on the wing.

The note is harsh and sepulchral, more like a grunt than a _coo_. The legs are not red as in the other common doves.

_The Sand Grouse_

This family seems to form a connecting link between the pigeons and the gallinaceous birds. They are characterised by having feathered legs. They are coloured so as to assimilate closely to their sandy surroundings. They are game birds. The reader is therefore referred to Marshall and Hume’s standard book, in which there are coloured plates of the various species. The order is treated of on pp. 53-63 of Vol. IV. of the Bird Volumes of _The Fauna of British India_ series. (Illus. I. G. I., pp. 43, 47, 53, 57, 59, 65, 69, 77.)

170. _Pavo cristatus_: The Common Peafowl. (F. 1324), (J. 803), (+V, with a long train in the cock.)

Description of this familiar bird is unnecessary, but it and its loud call, like the _miau_ of a cat, are known to all men.

_The Quails_

These, being game birds, do not come within the scope of the present work. The reader is referred to Hume and Marshall and the Bird Volumes of _The Fauna of British India_ series for accounts of them. Since, however, one sometimes, in the course of a walk in the cold weather, puts up a common quail, I will briefly describe the bird. As you walk along you suddenly hear a rustling noise almost at your feet, and before you can say “Jack Robinson” a small brown bird has arisen with a flutter and dashed off a few inches over the tops of the heads of corn in the adjacent field. After a flight of twenty or thirty yards the bird drops into the corn—that is all you are likely to see of the quail unless you shoot it or net it.

171. _Coturnix communis_: The Common or Grey Quail. (F. 1355), (J. 829), (+II, but with a very short tail.)

A brown bird much spotted and barred with black, having some white streaks along the length of the back. Short legs.

A winter visitor to India. (Illus. I. G. II., p. 133.)

_The Partridges_

These are game birds, and so lie outside the scope of this book. I will, however, describe briefly two common species, whose calls are to be numbered among the commonest sounds heard in the jungle.

172. _Francolinus vulgaris_: The Black Partridge, or Common Francolin. (F. 1372), (J. 818), (+III.)

The cock is a handsome black bird, with everywhere narrow bars of white or grey. The sides of the head are white, and there is a broad chestnut collar all round the neck.

The hen is reddish brown in most places where the cock is black.

Its cry is a curious harsh crow, so high-pitched as to be inaudible to some human beings. Indian Muhammedans declare that the bird calls “_Sub-hān, teri kudrat_.” Blanford syllabises it as, “_Juk-juk, tee-tee-tur_.”

It is found in N. India, most abundantly in the U. P. (Illus. I. G. II., p. 9.)

173. _Francolinus pondicerianus_: The Grey Partridge. (F. 1375), (J. 822), (+III.)

A greyish-brown bird marked all over with thin white or buff cross bars.

The loud call of this bird must be familiar to most Anglo-Indians. It is uttered early in the morning and again at sunset. Blanford describes it as “beginning with two or three single harsh notes, and continuing with a succession of trisyllabic, shrill, ringing cries.” Jerdon says of this species: “Its call is a peculiar loud shrill cry, and has, not unaptly, been compared to the word _Pateela-pateela-pateela_, quickly repeated, but preceded by a single note uttered two or three times, each time with a higher intonation, till it gets, as it were, the key-note of its call.”

This species runs very fast, and does not, as a rule, take to its wings unless flushed. (I. G. II. p. 51, but plate not a good one.)

_The Rails_, 174-176

174. _Amaurornis phœnicurus_: The White-breasted Water-hen. (F. 1401), (J. 907), (+II.)

A dark slaty-grey bird, almost black, with a white face, throat, and breast. The under parts of the tail, which is carried almost erect, are chestnut red. Wherever there is a pond having near it some bamboos or rushes there is one likely to see a water-hen. It is a great skulker, and always makes for cover the moment it thinks it is being watched. “It is,” as Blanford remarks, “an excessively noisy bird; its loud, hoarse, reiterated call, predominating in the evening and morning over the cries of the other waders and the ducks in the village tank, must be familiar to most people in India.” (Illus. B. B., p. 173.)

175. _Porphyrio poliocephalus_: The Purple Moorhen, or Purple Coot. (F. 1404), (J. 902), (IV.)

A beautiful purple-blue bird with very long red legs. The bill is red, as is a square shield which the bird carries on its forehead. It has a white patch under its tail. It is impossible to mistake this bird. There is none other like unto it in India. One frequently comes across it when out shooting.

176. _Fulica atra_: The Coot. (F. 1405), (J. 903), (IV.)

This is the most duck-like of all the rails, and indeed is very frequently shot and eaten as a duck by inexperienced sportsmen. However, its shining black plumage and its white bill and shield on the forehead serve to differentiate it from all Indian ducks. Moreover, when disturbed on the water, it experiences some difficulty in starting to fly. It runs along the surface of the water for a few feet with vigorous flappings of the wings and much splashing before it succeeds in lifting itself out of the water. It does not usually keep in flocks as ducks do. It breeds in India. It does not swim so high in the water as a duck. Its feet are not webbed, but its toes are pinnate, i.e. provided with flattened membranes which assist it in swimming. Its bill is not so flat as that of a duck.

_The Cranes_, 177-179

Cranes are large, tall, long-shanked birds which have a loud, trumpet-like call. 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. It has a broad white band running down each side of the long neck. Its legs are black.

It is a winter visitor to India. It is fairly common in N. India, but rare in the south.

It is usually seen in flocks, which spend the middle of the day on sandbanks in the middle of rivers. (Illus. I. G. III., p. 21.)

178. _Grus antigone_: The Sarus. (F. 1409), (J. 863), (+V. This is the largest of the Indian cranes, and stands nearly as high as a human being.)

Its general hue is French grey. Its head is devoid of feathers. Its throat and a ring round the nape are black. Its head and neck are red. Its legs are dull red.

It is the most familiar of the Indian cranes. It is usually seen in pairs. It does not soar high in the air, like the other two species. It is a permanent resident, but does not appear to occur south of the Godaveri.

It is far more confidential than the other species of crane, and will sometimes allow a human being to approach within thirty yards of it. (Illus. I. G. III., p. 1, but plate is not good.)

179. _Anthropoides virgo_: The Demoiselle Crane. (F. 1411), (J. 866), (+V. The smallest of the cranes.)

This bird is sometimes wrongly called _coolung_ by sportsmen; the Hindustani name for it is _Karkarra_.

A light grey bird, with a black face and neck and some black in the wings. Behind the eye is a streak of white feathers which ends in a long graceful white plume. Its note is harsher and less trumpet-like than those of the other cranes.

It is a winter visitor to India. It is very common in the Deccan, Guzerat, and Kattiwar; less common in other parts of N. India, and rare in Lower Bengal and S. India. Its habits are like those of No. 177. (Illus. F. IV., p. 184; also I. G. III., p. 31.)

_The Bustards_

These come within the category of “game birds,” and so none of them are treated of in this book. (Illus. I. G. I., pp. 1, 3, 7, 18.)

180. _Œdicnemus scolopax_: The Stone-Curlew, or Stone-Plover, or Thick-knee. (F. 1418), (J. 859), (+IV.)

This bird is very like a bustard, and is known to Anglo-Indian sportsmen as the _Bustard-Florican_. It is an ashy-brown bird, each feather having a blackish streak down the shaft. Its wings and tail have some black and white bars, which are conspicuous when the bird flies. The bill, eyes, and feet are yellow. Its wild-sounding cry, which is often heard at night, is like that of the curlew.

It frequents dry, open, stony country.

_The Jaçanas, 181 and 182_

These remarkable birds have very long toes, which enable them to run about on the large floating leaves of water plants.

181. _Metopidius indicus_: The Bronze-winged Jaçana. (F. 1428), (J. 900), (-IV.)

Head, neck, and breast a beautiful glossy black. A conspicuous white eyebrow. There is some black in the wings, but the general hue of these is a metallic greenish bronze. The lower back and tail are chestnut red.

Rare in Western India; common in the east.

“They present,” writes Cunningham, “an odd appearance on the wing, owing to the disproportionate size of their feet, which becomes particularly conspicuous when the legs are dropped just before the bird pitches on the surface of the weeds and expands its toes, which have been gathered up into a bundle during flight.”

182. _Hydrophasianus chirurgus_: The Pheasant-tailed Jaçana. (F. 1429), (J. 901), (IV, but with a tail a foot in length in the breeding season.)

_Winter plumage_: Upper parts brown, with a conspicuous white eyebrow and a yellow band down each side of the neck. Wings black and white. Lower parts white with a black gorget across the breast. Tail feathers white, except the two median ones, which are brown.

_Breeding plumage_: A long black pheasant-like tail is assumed, and the other parts are black, save the head, throat, and wings, which are white, and the back of the neck, which is golden yellow. This Jaçana looks in breeding plumage (i.e. in the summer) rather like a silver pheasant, and, indeed, Europeans call it the water-pheasant. It is a beautiful creature in its summer splendour. Finn says that it is to his mind “the most beautiful of all our smaller aquatic birds, and hardly equalled in this respect by any bird whatever.”

Its peculiar wailing cry has been likened to the mew of a kitten.

_The Lapwings_, 183 _and_ 184

183. _Sarcogrammus indicus_: The Red-wattled Lapwing. (F. 1431), (J. 855), (+IV.)

This is the familiar “Did-you-do-it.”

Head, neck, and upper breast black. There is a broad white band running from the eye down the whole length of the neck. The back and wings are bronzy brown, black, and white, the white being arranged so as to form a conspicuous bar during flight. Lower parts are white, as is the tail, except for a black band which runs across it near the tip. The bill is reddish, and there is in front of the eye a conspicuous crimson wattle. The legs are bright yellow.

This noisy bird is known to all residents in India. Its noisy call, “Did he do it? Pity to do it,” is one of the most familiar sounds of the Indian country-side. (Illus. B. B., p. 161.)

In Burma it is replaced by an allied species—_Sarcogrammus atrinuchalis_—the Burmese Wattled Lapwing.

184. _Sarciophorus malabaricus_: The Yellow-wattled Lapwing. (F. 1433), (J. 856), (-IV.)

This is very like the last species, the chief difference being that the conspicuous wattle is yellow instead of crimson and the white line runs round the back of the head from eye to eye, instead of down the neck. Its cry is like that of No. 183, but not so harsh and with a note less.

This species is widely distributed, but not usually so common as the last. It is said not to occur in Upper Sind or the Western Punjab. It certainly does not occur in the neighbourhood of Lahore.

184a. _Hoplopterus ventralis_: The Spur-winged Plover. (F. 1435), (J. 857), (IV.)

Wings and tail marked like those of the red-wattled lapwing. The head and recumbent crest are black. No wattle. Its call is very like that of the yellow-wattled lapwing. This bird is very common on the Ganges. Not found in the Bombay Presidency, nor in Madras south of the Godaveri.

_The Plovers_, 185 _and_ 186

The ringed plovers are small “snippets” which haunt the seashore and the sandbanks of rivers. They go about in small flocks. 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.

185. _Ægialitis alexandrina_: The Kentish Plover. (F. 1446), (J. 848), (I.)

Upper parts brown, lower parts white. The brown of the upper parts is broken by a white forehead, eyebrow, and collar. The under surface of the wing is white, so that as a flock of this species or the next two species fly they look now brown, now white, according as the brown or white surface of the wing is presented to the observer.

This species is seen chiefly in winter and on the sea-coast.

186. _Ægialitis dubia_: The Little Ringed Plover. (F. 1447), (J. 850), (I.)

This is very like No. 185 in appearance, but may be easily distinguished from it by having a black band across the throat. Legs yellow.

This species is not confined to the sea-coast. Like most of its tribe it has a plaintive whistle.

187. _Himantopus candidus_: The Black-winged Stilt, or Long-legs. (F. 1451), (J. 898), (-IV.)

_Male_: A white bird with glossy black back and wings.

_Female_: White with brown back and wings.

This species is characterised by very long red legs. Its bill is nearly three inches long.

It is found in marshes and tanks.

188. _Recurvirostra avocetta_: The Avocet. (F. 1452), (J. 899), (IV.)

This elegant bird is characterised by a very long bill, which is curved _upwards_ towards the end. It is a very easy bird to identify. Its body is about the size of that of the crow. It is a white bird with a number of black markings. The black markings are on top of the head, back of the neck, the shoulders, and the wings. The beak is black and the long legs are dark grey.

Wherever there is shallow water there may the avocet be found wading in winter, for it is only a winter visitor to India. It does not appear to be very common anywhere.

_The Curlews_, 189 _and_ 190

189. _Numenius arquata_: The Curlew. (F. 1454), (J. 877), (V.)

This well-known bird is about the size of a kite, and except for the white chin and throat its colouring is rather like that of the kite. But here all resemblance to the kite ceases. The curlew is a long-shanked wading bird, with a curved bill half a foot in length, the curve in this case being downwards instead of upwards as in the avocet. It has a wild, plaintive cry.

It is a winter visitor to India.

190. _Numenius phæopus_: The Whimbrel. (F. 1455), (J. 878), (+IV; about midway between the crow and the kite.)

This is a small edition of the curlew, but differs from it in having a white band along the middle of the head. Its curved bill is only a little over three inches long. It is less abundant than the curlew, and perhaps scarcely deserves a place among the common birds of India.

191. _Limosa belgica_: The Black-tailed Godwit. (F. 1456), (J. 875), (-V.)

A brown bird with white chin, throat, and abdomen, and some white in the wings. The base of the tail is white and the remainder black. The bill is about four inches long, and straight. The legs are long.

A winter visitor to India; common in the north and rare in the south.

Blanford states that it is often sold in the Calcutta bazaar as woodcock, but Finn states that this is not in accordance with his experience. (Illus. I. G. III., p. 409.)

_The Sandpipers_, 192-195

These birds constitute the “snippets” of Anglo-Indian, that is to say, birds that try to be snipe.

These are all greenish-brown birds with light under parts. They have fairly long bills, but not so long as that of any of the species of snipe. They are often seen feeding—a statement which cannot be made regarding the snipe. If you see a snipe-like bird feeding, you may be perfectly sure that it is not a snipe. It is a sandpiper of sorts, but it is not by any means easy to say which of the many sandpipers without shooting it. Descriptions of the common species of sandpiper follow:—

192. _Totanus hypoleucus_: The Common Sandpiper. (F. 1460), (J. 893), (+II, but with a very short tail, so that it actually measures less than a bulbul.)

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. (Illus. B. B., p. 168.)

193. _Totanus glareola_: The Wood Sandpiper, or Spotted Sandpiper. (F. 1461), (J. 891), (+II, but with a very short tail.)

The upper plumage of this is dark brown spotted with white. The abdomen is white, as is also the tail.

The habits of this species are very like those of the snipe, so that the sportsman out shooting constantly puts up the bird, but it can be distinguished from the snipe, because instead of emitting the sharp “_psip_” of the snipe on rising, it utters a shrill note. Moreover, it is a much smaller bird than even the Jack-snipe.

194. _Totanus ochropus_: The Green Sandpiper. (F. 1462), (J. 892), (+II, but with a short tail.)

This bird is very like the last species, except that it is larger and less conspicuously spotted, and has more white in the tail. It is distinguishable from the snipe, alongside of which it is often found, by its “shrill piping note,” which it utters on the wing, and its white tail, which is conspicuous as it flies away.

A winter visitor; commoner in N. India than in the south.

Among the sandpipers that visit India during the winter in large numbers are (1) _Totanus glottis_: The Greenshank. (F. 1466), (J. 894), (-IV) and (2) _Totanus calidris_: The Redshank. (F. 1464), (J. 897), (+III). The greenshank may be recognised by its large size and the redshank by the red legs, which are not so extravagantly long as those of the stilt (187).

195. _Tringa minuta_: The Little Stint. (F. 1471), (J. 884), (+I, but with a short tail.)

Upper parts dingy brown, with white forehead and under parts.

“If,” writes Eha, “you see a hundred dingy little birds, about the size of sparrows, all feeding together knee-deep in water, you may safely put them down as stints.”

A winter visitor to India; common on the coasts.

_The Snipes_

These being game birds are not dealt with in this volume. It must suffice that all four species—The Common, Full, or Fantail Snipe (_Gallinago cœlestis_), The Pintail (_G. stenura_), The Little Jack-Snipe (_G. gallinula_), and The Painted Snipe (_Rostratula capensis_), who is not a true snipe, all lie up closely in marshy ground or paddy fields in the daytime, and are not likely to be seen by the naturalist unless he is prepared to wade and flush them.

When flushed the first three go off at a great pace, either uttering no call or a short, sharp “_psip_.” The flight of the last species is comparatively feeble. (Illus. I. G. III., pp. 339, 359, etc.)

_The Gulls_, 196-199

Gulls are very familiar birds to every one who has performed the journey from England to India. The beautiful flight and the loud screams of these kites of the sea are indelibly impressed upon the memory of most Anglo-Indians.

These magnificent fliers are able to keep pace with the steamer for hours at a time without putting forth any effort. They saunter through the air in the wake of the ship, and when anything edible is thrown overboard they drop down and pick it off the water (they can swim like ducks), and having devoured what there is to be eaten, they fly on after the ship, and catch up in a few seconds.

They are largely scavengers. At sea-coast stations no sight is more familiar than that of a number of crows and gulls squabbling over the little fish, etc., that the fishermen throw away when overhauling their nets on the seashore. (Illus. B. D., p. 272; also B. B., p. 190.)

The four commonest gulls in India are:

196. _Larus ridibundus_: The Laughing Gull. (F. 1490), (J. 891), (IV.)

A white bird with grey shoulders and some black in the wings. In summer the head and neck become brown and in winter traces of this usually remain. The bill and legs are red.

A winter visitor to India.

197. _Larus brunneicephalus_: The Brown-headed Gull. (F. 1491), (J. 980), (+IV.)

This bird is very like the last at all seasons, so that it is scarcely possible to distinguish them on the wing.

198. _Larus affinis_: The Dark-backed Herring-Gull. (F. 1494), (J. 978), (V.)

This bird is distinguished from Nos. 196 and 197 by the fact that its wings and shoulders are slate-grey instead of pale grey, and its legs are yellow. It is a much larger bird than the above two species.

It is said to be very common at Karachi. It is found on other parts of the West Coast, but apparently not on the East Coast.

199. _Larus cachinans_: The Yellow-legged Herring-Gull. (F. 1495), (V.)

This is very like No. 198, except that its shoulders are of a lighter shade of grey. It has yellow legs.

This gull is often seen on the rivers and large _jhils_ of Northern India in winter.

_The Terns_, 200-205

These beautiful birds have been aptly termed the swallows of the sea, for like swallows they are birds of powerful flight, and remain for long periods on the wing. But they are not confined to the sea. 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.” (Illus. B. D., p. 270.)

200. _Hydrochelidon hybrida_: The Whiskered Tern, or the Small Marsh Tern. (F. 1496), (J. 984), (+II.)

_Winter plumage_: A white bird with grey back, wings, and tail. Some black on the nape of the neck and a black streak behind the eye. Bill, legs, and toes dull red.

_Summer plumage_: The whole of the upper part of the head is black. The abdomen becomes dark grey, so that at this season the whiskered tern is liable to be confounded with the black-bellied tern (204). The tail, however, of the whiskered species is not so deeply forked.

Very common in N. India. An inland bird found on marshes, rivers, tanks, and paddy fields.

201. _Hydroprogne caspia_: The Caspian Tern. (F. 1498), (J. 982), (+IV.)

This is the largest of the terns. It is a white bird save for the fact that there is a good deal of black in the head. Its wings are pearl grey. Its bill is bright red. Its legs are black. Its tail is not very deeply forked. It goes about in pairs. It is local in its distribution.

It is common at Madras, and it is said to be particularly common in Sind. I have never seen it in the Punjab. Eha does not mention it as one of the birds of Bombay.

202. _Sterna angelica_: The Gull-billed Tern. (F. 1499), (J. 983), (+III, with a longish tail.)

Printer’s devils are particularly spiteful to this bird. In _The Common Birds of Bombay_ they have mutilated its name into “gull-gilled.” In _Bombay Ducks_ it appears as the “gull-bird tern.”

It is the least beautiful of the terns, being more heavily built than most of them.

In winter it is a white bird with grey wings and some black in the head. In summer its head is jet black. The bill, legs, and feet are black. Its tail is not very deeply forked.

It is found both inland and on the coast.

203. _Sterna seena_: The Indian River Tern. (F. 1503), (J. 985), (+III, with a long, deeply forked tail.)

This is the common tern of N. India, and frequents all the large rivers.

Its head and nape are deep black. The upper plumage French grey. Lower plumage very pale grey. Chin white, and a white patch on each cheek. Bill bright deep yellow. Legs red. This bird moults about Christmas time, and for a few weeks after the moult there is much white in the head, but this soon disappears.

204. _Sterna melanogaster_: The Black-bellied Tern. (F. 1504), (J. 987), (-III, but with a long, deeply forked tail.)

Head black (with some white after the moult at Christmas), _abdomen black_. Cheek, chin-throat, and wing lining white. Rest of plum, age grey, paler on the tail than on the back. Bill orange-yellow; legs and feet dull red.

One of the commonest of the terns, especially inland.

205. _Sterna minuta_: The Little Tern. (F. 1510), (J. 988), (-II.)

A tern not much bigger than a sparrow, with a white forehead and black head, white cheeks and lower parts, grey wings, dark red bill and legs, is probably this species.

It is fairly common in N. India; rare in the south.

206. _Rhynchops albicollis_: The Indian Skimmer, or Scissors-bill. (F. 1517), (J. 995), (-IV.)

A long-winged, tern-like bird, which flies about in little flocks a few inches above the surface of the water, with white forehead, tail, and lower parts, and a white collar round the neck; rest of upper plumage dark brown. Bill deep red; legs bright red. (Illus. F. IV., p. 296.)

_The Pelicans_, 207 _and_ 208

Description of these well-known birds is superfluous, as every one knows what they look like.

Four species are found in India, but they can scarcely be described as common birds. Two species, however, are fairly abundant on the big _jhils_ of Northern India.

207. _Pelicanus crispus_: The Dalmatian Pelican. (F. 1522), (+V; a large bird as big as a swan.)

The beak is one and a half feet in length. A white bird with some black in the wings. Bill dark grey.

Winter visitor to U. P. and Sind. (Illus. F. IV., p. 331.)

208. _Pelicanus philippensis_: The Spotted-billed or Grey Pelican. (F. 1523), (J. 1004), (+V; much smaller than 207.)

This may be distinguished by the curious dark spots and markings on its pinkish yellow bill. (Illus. B. P., frontispiece.)

_The Cormorants_, 209-211

These are large black birds, which live largely on the water, and catch fish by diving. When not fishing they have the habit of standing on top of a post with wings outspread and then look rather like a church lectern.

Three species occur in India:

209. _Phalacrocorax carbo_: The Large Cormorant. (F. 1526), (J. 1005), (+V.)

210. _Phalacrocorax fuscicollis_: The Indian Shag. (F. 1527), (J. 1006), (+V, but smaller than 209.)

211. _Phalacrocorax javanicus_: The Little Cormorant. (F. 1528), (J. 1007), (IV.)

All three have similar habits, the last being the only common member of the genus. No. 210 has no white throat. Nos. 209 and 211 have a white throat, but can be readily distinguished by the fact that No. 209 is one foot longer than No. 211.

_The Ibises_, 212-214

Ibises are birds about the size of a common fowl, but having a long curved bill like that of the curlew. As Finn has pointed out, “Ibises fly like storks with the neck outstretched, but with a quicker stroke of the wings and frequent intervals of sailing with the pinions held level, so that they are easily distinguished from other waders when on the wing.” They usually occur in small flocks.

212. _Ibis melanocephala_: The White Ibis. (F. 1541), (J. 941), (+V.)

The bald head and neck are black, as are the long bill and legs. The rest of the plumage is white.

213. _Inocotis papillosus_: The Black Ibis. (F. 1542), (J. 942), (+V.)

The Black Curlew, or King Curlew, or King Ibis of Anglo-Indians.

In this species the head only, and not the neck as in No. 212, is devoid of feathers. The skin is black, but the back of the head is covered with little red warts. The plumage is glossy black, save for a small white patch on the wing. The bill, which is nearly six inches long, is dull dark green. Legs bright red.

214. _Plegadis falcinellus_: The Glossy Ibis. (F. 1544), (J. 943), (+V.)

In this species only the front of the face is devoid of feathers. A chestnut bird with head, wings, and tail dark brown with a green gloss.

215. _Platalea leucorodia_: The Spoonbill. (F. 1545), (J. 939), (+V.)

A large white bird with a crest in the breeding season. The long bill, which is flat and expanded at the end like a spoon, is black, as are the long legs. It is impossible to mistake spoonbills. There are no other birds like them. They are found in small flocks on sandbanks, etc., at the water’s edge.

_The Storks_, 216-221

Every one is familiar with the appearance of the common stork. The leading features of the stork family are their large size, their long legs, neck, and bill, and their perching habits. In this last respect they differ from cranes, which never perch in trees. During flight their long necks are stretched out forwards, and their long legs stretched out backwards. They fly by a slow, steady flapping of the wings, but often sail on outstretched wings like vultures. Their nests are in India, huge platforms of sticks built in trees.

216. _Ciconia alba_: The White Stork. (F. 1546), (J. 919), (+V; 3½ feet long.)

A white bird with some black in the wings. Bill and legs bright red.

A winter visitor, common in North India.

217. _Dissura episcopus_: The White-necked Stork, or the Beefsteak Bird. (F. 1548), (J. 920), (+V; 3 feet long.)

A black bird, except for the neck and lower abdomen and feathers under the tail, which are white. Bill black; legs dull red.

Not found in Punjab or Sind.

218. _Xenorhynchus asiaticus_: The Black-necked Stork. Sportsmen call this bird the Australian Stork. (F. 1549), (J. 917), (+V; 4½ feet long.)

Beak, head, neck, and shoulders black; wings black and white. Rest of plumage white; legs bright red.

219. _Leptopilus dubius_: The Adjutant. (F. 1550), (J. 915), (+V; 5 feet long.)

This huge bird is characterised by an enormous beak, over a foot in length, and a head devoid of feathers. From its neck hangs a pouch. There is a ruff of white feathers round the neck. The lower parts are white. The wings are partly dark slaty grey and partly French grey. The bill is dirty pink, and the legs dirty greyish white.

Not found in S. India. (Illus. B. P., pp. 28 and 34; also I. F., p. 232.)

220. _Pseudotantalus leucocephalus_: The Painted Stork. The Pelican Ibis of old writers. (F. 1552), (J. 938), (+V; 3½ feet long.)

This is a stork which is trying to turn into an ibis; its bill, which is ten inches long, having a marked downward curve. It is a white bird with a black band across the breast. The wings are mainly black, but some of the feathers are pink with white borders.

The front of the head is devoid of feathers and is orange-yellow, as is the bill. The legs are brown.

Not found in the Punjab; very common in the Deccan. (Its head is figured in Vol. IV., p. 376 of F.)

221. _Anastomus oscitans_: The Open-Bill. The Shell Ibis of the older writers. (F. 1553), (J. 940), (+V; nearly 3 feet long.)

This bird is distinguished from all others by the fact that the mandibles do not meet in the middle; indeed the beak looks as though it had become distorted owing to the attempts of the bird to crack a very hard nut! (The head is figured on p. 378, F. IV.) It is a greyish white bird with black shoulders, wings, and tail. The bill is light horn colour, and the legs dirty pink.

To my mind this bird looks like a white stork that sadly needs a wash and brush up and its beak put straight!

Found only in N. India. Abundant in Oudh and Bengal.

_The Herons_, 222-225

Herons are wading birds with long, sharp, stiletto-like bills and telescopic necks. It is their habit to stand motionless in shallow water with the head almost buried on the shoulders. When a victim shows itself, out shoots the neck of the fisher, and woe betide his victim! On the wing herons are easily identified by their large size, the steady flapping of their wings, and the fact that they fly with the neck drawn in and the legs projecting behind beyond the tail. A great many species of heron occur in India, but only four are commonly seen by the average observer.

222. _Ardea cinerea_: The Common Heron. This is the familiar heron of England. (F. 1555), (J. 923), (+V; a little over a yard long.)

An ashy-grey bird with some white on the head. From the back of the head some black plumes hang. Lower parts white. Bill dark yellow. Legs dirty green.

Usually a solitary bird.

223. _Bubulcus coromandus_: The Cattle Egret. (F. 1562), (J. 929), (+IV.)

A pure white bird with a yellow bill and black legs. In the breeding season some yellow plumes grow from the back of the head.

This is a sociable species. These birds frequently accompany cattle, which serve as efficient beaters. The quadrupeds put up grasshoppers, etc., which the egrets seize. The birds sometimes perch on the backs of cattle.

There are three larger species of egret which are also white; these belong to the genus _Herodias_, but these are scarcely common birds. A large white egret with the bill black is one of these species. (Illus. B. D., p. 240.)

224. _Ardeola grayi_: The Pond Heron. This is the ubiquitous Paddy Bird. (F. 1565), (J. 930), (+IV.)

This bird, which may be seen squatting at the margin of every tank and every village pond, looks greenish brown—much the colour of its muddy surroundings. But startle it and it opens out milk-white wings on which it flies away with steady flappings. It is impossible to mistake a paddy bird. It sits all brown and flies all white. Close inspection shows that every feather has the shaft of a colour different from the web. (Illus. B. D., p. 236; also B. P., p. 114; also B. P., p. 178.)

225. _Nycticorax griseus_: The Night Heron. (F. 1568), (J. 937), (V.)

A large dusky-coloured bird which is seen flapping its way along about sunset with loud raucous cries that sound like “_wāk_” is the night heron.

The head, nape, back, and shoulders are black. Forehead, cheek, breast, and lower parts white. Remainder of plumage ashy grey. Eyes bright red. Some of the feathers of the back of the neck are white and are lengthened to form plumes. (Illus. B. D., pp. 232 and 238.)

225a. _Butorides javanica_: The Little Green Heron. (F. 1567), (J. 931), (+IV.)

A small skulking heron of greenish plumage, with long black crest and a black line from the base of the bill running backwards below the eye.

226. _Phœnicopterus roseus_: The Common Flamingo. (F. 1575), (J. 944), (+V; nearly 4½ feet long.)

These beautiful birds occur in flocks in shallow lakes. They are white with a pink tinge. The wings are white, black, and cerise. The long legs are deep pink. The curious beak is bent in the middle to form an obtuse angle. (The beak is figured on p. 408 of Vol. IV. of O. and B. B.)

_The Geese_, 227 _and_ 228

As geese are game birds they do not come strictly within the scope of this book. However, as these birds are much _en evidence_ in Upper India in the cold weather, I will briefly describe the two common species.

In the U. P. during the winter months no sight is more common than that of a V-shaped flock of geese cleaving its way through the air on quivering wings. The birds, as they fly, utter a curious cackle easy to recognise, but difficult to describe. This call is often heard at night. When riding in the early morning one often surprises a flock of geese feeding in some field. They pass the day on a sandbank in some large river, most of the flock asleep on one leg with heads tucked under the wing, but one or two birds are invariably posted as sentinels.

227. _Anser ferus_: The Grey-lag Goose. (F. 1579), (J. 945), (V.)

Upper parts brown, the shoulders having a number of narrow pale cross bars. Lower parts pale grey. Bill, legs, and feet are a dirty pink colour.

Not found in S. India. (Illus. I. G. III., p. 55.)

228. _Anser indicus_: The Barred-headed Goose. (F. 1583), (J. 949), (-V.)

This species is distinguished from the other by its yellow bill and feet, and the fact that its head is white with two conspicuous broad black cross bars, from which the bird derives its name. Its general colour is more grey than that of the last species.

Rare in S. India. (Illus. I. D., p. 84; also I. G. III., p. 81.)

_The Ducks_, 229 _and_ 230

These being game birds do not come within the scope of this work. Two species, however, which are commonly seen are not usually shot by sportsmen on account of their indifferent flavour. These I describe.

229. _Casarca rutila_: The Ruddy Sheldrake, or Brahminy Duck. (F. 1588), (J. 954), (-V.)

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. “It is difficult,” writes Blanford, “so long as one is on an Indian river to get out of sight of these birds or out of hearing of their peculiar clanging bi-syllabic call or alarm cry, which is uttered frequently on the smallest excuse.” The cry is like a soft “_chakwa_,” hence the Hindustani name of the bird. (Illus. I. D., p. 114; also I. G. III., p. 123.)

230. _Spatula clypeata_: The Shoveller. (F. 1602), (J. 957), (-V.)

This handsome duck, although it occurs in _jhils_, is pre-eminently a village duck. If there be any considerable piece of stagnant water near a village in N. India, there are likely to be some shoveller ducks on this—in winter, for they are only winter visitors to India. This species is distinguishable from other ducks by its great flat bill being much broader at the tip than at the base. It has a peculiar habit of swimming in circles with its bill resting on the surface of the water.

_Cock, after February_: Head and upper neck glossy green. Lower neck and breast white. Abdomen chestnut. Rest of body brown with a green patch or speculum in the wing.

_Cock before February, and Hen_: Reddish brown with a lighter-coloured border to many of the feathers. (Illus. I. D., p. 196; also I. G. III., p. 141.)

231. _Podicipes albipennis_: The Indian Little Grebe, or Dabchick. (F. 1617), (J. 975), (+II.)

This is one of the most aquatic birds in existence. It rarely walks on _terra firma_, and never takes to flight from the water. When alarmed it seeks safety by diving. Writing of this bird, Eha says, “I do not know how to describe it better than to say that you might take it for a small chicken without a tail. Its colour is dark glossy brown on the upper parts, with some rich chestnut on the sides of the neck. Young birds are lighter.” (Illus. B. B., p. 184.)

THE END

INDEX TO DESCRIPTIVE LIST

A
Adjutant, 220

B
Babblers, 95
Barbets, 157
Bee-eaters, 160
Bulbuls, 99
Bunting, 139
Bustards, 199
Buzzards, 180

C
Cranes, 197
Crows, 93
Cormorants, 216
Cuckoos, 169
Cuckoo-shrikes, 115
Curlews, 205
Chats, 126

D
Doves, 189
Drongos, 105
Ducks, 226

E
Eagles, 180
Egret, 222

F
Falcons, 186
Finches, 136
Flycatchers, 122

G
Geese, 224
Godwit, 206
Gulls, 209

H
Harriers, 184
Hawks, 186
Hornbills, 164
Hoopoe, 166
Herons, 221

I
Ibises, 217
Iora, 99

J
Jaçanas, 200

K
Kingfishers, 161
Kites, 184

L
Lapwings, 201
Larks, 148

M
Martins, 142
Merlin, 187
Minivets, 113
Munias, 133
Mynas, 119

N
Nightjars, 168
Nuthatches, 104

O
Orioles, 116
Owls, 174
Osprey, 176

P
Parrots, 172
Partridges, 193
Pipits, 147
Pitta, 154
Pelicans, 215
Plovers, 203
Pigeons, 188

Q
Quails, 192

R
Rails, 195
Redstart, 128
Robins, 126
Roller, 159

S
Sandpipers, 206
Sand Grouse, 191
Shrikes, 111
Sparrows, 138
Spoonbill, 218
Starling, 118
Stint, 208
Stork, 218
Sunbirds, 151
Swallows, 141
Swifts, 167

T
Terns, 211

V
Vultures, 177

W
Wagtails, 144
Warblers, 107
Weaver-birds, 131
Woodpeckers, 155

_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_

BOMBAY DUCKS: An Account of some of the Everyday Birds and Beasts found
in a Naturalist’s El Dorado. With numerous Illustrations
reproduced from Photographs by Captain Fayrer, I.M.S. Demy 8vo.
BIRDS OF THE PLAINS. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo.
_IN COLLABORATION WITH FRANK FINN_
THE MAKING OF SPECIES. With 15 Illustrations. Demy 8vo.

Transcriber’s Notes

--Retained publisher information from the printed copy (the electronic
edition is in the public domain in the country of publication).

--Corrected some palpable typos.

--Moved promotional material to the end of the book.

--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.