Part 1 — B. CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO STRUCTURAL PECULIARITIES
Reading edition
I. Bills.
II. Crest.
III. Legs.
IV. Tail.
V. Sexual Dimorphism.
I. BILLS
Birds with Long Bills
1. The Sunbirds (106-108). (Very small birds with long curved bills.)
2. The Kingfishers (118-120). (Fairly long and straight.)
3. The Hornbills (121 and 122). (Big birds with long tails.)
4. The Hoopoe (123). (Bill very long and slightly curved.)
5. The Black-winged Stilt (187). (Fairly long, very slender.)
6. The Avocet (188). (Fairly long, slender, with an upward curve.)
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7. The Curlew (189). (Very long and curved.)
8. The Whimbrel (190). (Long and curved.)
9. The Black-tailed Godwit (191).
10. The Snipes.
11. The Pelicans (207 and 208).
12. The Ibises (212-214). (Very long and slightly curved.)
13. The Spoonbill (215). (Long, straight, and flattened with a ladle-like tip.)
14. The Storks (216-221).
15. The Herons (222-225). (Fairly long and dagger-shaped.).
II. CREST
Crested birds
1. The Madras Red-vented Bulbul (15).
2. The Burmese Red-vented Bulbul (16).
3. The Bengal Red-vented Bulbul (17).
4. The Punjab Red-vented Bulbul (18).
5. The White-eared Bulbul (19).
6. The Bengal Red-whiskered Bulbul (20).
7. The Southern Red-whiskered Bulbul(21).
8. The Large Racket-tailed Drongo (27).
9. The Rose-coloured Starling (48).
10. The Brahminy Myna (51).
11. The Paradise Flycatcher (57).
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12. The Crested Lark (101).
13. Sykes’s Crested Lark (102).
14. The Malabar Crested Lark (103).
15. The Yellow-fronted Woodpecker (110).
16. The Golden Woodpecker (111).
17. The Pied Kingfisher (small crest) (118).
18. The Indian Hoopoe (123).
19. The Pied-crested Cuckoo (129).
20. The Common Peafowl (170).
21. The Large Cormorant (small crest) (209).
22. The Indian Spur-winged Plover (184a).
23. The Herons (222-225).
III. LEGS
Birds with very long legs
1. The White-breasted Water-hen (174). (Moderately long.)
2. The Purple Coot (175).
3. The Cranes (177-179).
4. The Stone Curlew (180).
5. The Lapwings (183 and 184).
6. The Black-winged Stilt (187).
7. The Avocet (188).
8. The Curlew (189).
9. The Whimbrel (190).
10. The Spoonbill (215).
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11. The Storks (216-221).
12. The Common Flamingo (226).
13. The Indian Spur-winged Plover (184a).
Birds with legs feathered to the toe
1. The Owls (135-139).
2. The True Eagles (146).
3. The Sandgrouse.
IV. TAIL
1. Birds with the tail deeply forked
1. The Drongos (25-27).
2. The Swallows (88-90).
3. The Palm Swift (125).
4. The Common Kite (152). (Tail slightly forked. This distinguishes the Kite from all other raptorial birds which have round, square, or wedge-shaped tails.)
5. The Terns (200-206).
2. Birds with long tails (i.e. long in proportion to rest of body)
1. The Indian Tree-pie (5).
2. The King Crow (25).
3. The White-bellied Drongo (26).
4. The Larger Racket-tailed Drongo (27).
5. The Tailor Bird (cock in breeding plumage when the two middle feathers are prolonged as two bristles) (28).
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6. The Paradise Flycatcher (cock only) (57).
7. The Shama (69).
8. The Wire-tailed Swallow (two of the tail feathers are prolonged beyond the others and look like wires. These frequently get broken off) (89).
9. The Common Indian Bee-eater (the two median tail feathers are prolonged as bristles) (116).
10. The Blue-tailed Bee-eater (the two median tail feathers are prolonged as bristles) (117).
11. The Hornbills (121 and 122).
12. The Cuckoos (128-130).
13. The Crow-pheasant (131).
14. The Large Indian Paroquet (132).
15. The Rose-ringed Paroquet (133).
16. The Western Blossom-headed Paroquet (134).
17. The Peacock (170). In this species it is not the tail, but the upper tail coverts which are elongated.
18. The Pheasant-tailed Jaçana (in breeding plumage) (182).
19. Terns (202-204).
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3. Birds with a very short tail
1. The Nuthatches (23 and 24).
2. The Munias (74-79). (Fairly short).
3. The Ashy-crowned Finch-Lark (105).
4. The Indian Pitta (109).
5. The Woodpeckers (110 and 111). (Fairly short.)
6. The Barbets (113 and 114).
7. The Kingfishers (118-120).
8. The Common Indian Swift (124).
9. The Spotted Owlet (135).
10. The Scops Owl (138).
11. The Vultures (140-142). (Fairly short.)
12. The Common Quail (171).
13. The Partridges (172 and 173).
14. The White-breasted Water-hen (174).
15. The Purple Coot (175).
16. The Coot (176).
17. The Plovers (185 and 186).
18. The Avocet (188).
19. The Black-tailed Godwit (191).
20. The Sandpipers (192-194).
21. The Little Stint (195).
22. The Pelicans (207 and 208).
23. The Cormorants (209-211).
24. The Ibises (212-214).
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25. The Spoonbill (215).
26. The Egrets (223).
27. The Paddy Bird (224).
28. The Night Heron (225).
29. The Common Flamingo (226).
30. The Geese (227 and 228).
31. The Ducks (229 and 230).
32. The Little Grebe (231). (No tail at all.)
4. Birds in which a part of the tail feathers are prolonged beyond the rest as bristles
(a) Median pair prolonged
1. (Cock) Tailor Bird (in hot weather).
2. The Bee-eaters (116 and 117).
(b) Outer pair prolonged
1. The Larger Racket-tailed Drongo (27). (The web reappears at the tip, so as to form a disc at the terminal part of the feather.)
2. The Wire-tailed Swallow.
V. SEXUAL DIMORPHISM
Birds in which the sexes differ greatly in appearance
1. The Common Iora (13).
2. The Minivets (39-41).
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3. The Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike (42).
4. The Orioles (44 and 45).
5. The Rose-coloured Starling (48).
6. The Indian Paradise Flycatcher (57).
7. The Pied Bush Chats (61 and 62).
8. The Indian Bush Chat (63).
9. The Indian Redstart (65).
10. The Indian Robins (66 and 67).
11. The Magpie Robin (68).
12. The Shama (69).
13. The Weaver Birds (70-73). (In breeding season only.)
14. The Indian Red Munia (79). (Particularly in breeding season.)
15. The Common Rose-Finch (80).
16. The Common Sparrow (82).
17. The Buntings (84 and 85).
18. The Ashy-crowned Finch-Lark (105).
19. The Sunbirds (106-108).
20. The Koel (130).
21. The Blossom-headed Paroquet (134).
22. The Harriers (153-157).
23. The Red Turtle Dove (169).
24. The Common Peafowl (170).
25. The Black Partridge (172).
26. The Shoveller (230). (In breeding plumage.)
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