Page:The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds Vol 3).djvu/7



the Preface to the second volume, a change in the original plan of the ' Birds ' was announced. It was still proposed to complete the work in three volumes, but as the second was shorter than usual it was announced that the deficiency would be made good in the third, which would contain descriptions of all Indian birds except Passeres. As the work progressed, however, further modification became necessary, as it was evident that the proposed third volume would be of inconvenient size, and it has now been decided to divide it into two. The birds will therefore occupy four volumes instead of three, and of these the third is herewith published. The fourth volume is in preparation and a considerable portion is written. The publishing price of the last three is reduced, so that the cost of the whole work is only increased by a very small amount. Mr. Gates, after writing the two volumes containing the descriptions of the Passeres, was obliged to return to his appointment in India, as explained in the Preface to the second volume. The continuation of the 'Birds' has been left in my hands, and I have endeavoured to keep the work uniform in general plan, and to render the change of authorship as little conspicuous as possible; but I fear there are many, besides myself, who will see cause for regret that the able ornithologist who commenced the work was prevented by circumstances from finishing it.

The birds of which descriptions appear in the present volume are the Eurylsemi, the various groups known collectively as Picarian or non-Passerine perching birds, the Parrots, and the nocturnal and diurnal Birds of Prey. Thus the first three volumes of the present work correspond to the first two of Jerdon's, and contain the same families of Birds, though differently arranged.

The question of the system to be employed in dividing the Birds of India into Orders did not present itself in the first two volumes, which were occupied by the Passeres, now