Birds Nesting in India - A Calendar of the Breeding Seasons, and a Popular Guide to the Habits and Haunts of Birds

G. F. L. Marshall

Description

This text contains a comprehensive treatise on the nesting habits of birds common to India, including a calendar of the breeding seasons and a popular guide to their habits and haunts. A fascinating book that will greatly appeal to both amateur and seasoned ornithologists alike, 'Birds Nesting in India' is a wonderful text well deserving of a place in any collection of ornithological literature. The chapters of this book include: 'Breeding Seasons and Hints on Bird's Nesting'; 'Habits and Haunts of Birds', 'List of Birds that are known to Breed in India', 'Details on Eggs and Nests', and much more. This text was originally published in 1877, and is proudly republished now complete with a new introduction on ornithology.

Sujets

• List of birds of India

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 14 juillet 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528761925
• Langue: English

Extrait

BIRDS NESTING
IN
INDIA.

A CALENDAR OF THE BREEDING SEASONS, AND A POPULAR GUIDE TO THE HABITS AND HAUNTS OF BIRDS.

ILLUSTRATED.

B Y C APTAIN G. F. L. MARSHALL, R.E., F.Z.S.,
AND MEM BER OF THE BRITISH INDIAN ORNITHOLOGICAL UNIONS.
1877.
Copyright 2013 Read Books Ltd.
This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Etymologically, the word ornithology derives from the ancient Greek ornis (bird) and logos (rationale or explanation). The science of ornithology has a long history and studies on birds have helped develop several key concepts in evolution, behaviour and ecology such as the definition of species, the process of speciation, instinct, learning, ecological niches and conservation. Whilst early ornithology was principally concerned with descriptions and distributions of species, ornithologists today seek answers to very specific questions, often using birds as models to test hypotheses or predictions based on theories. However, most modern biological theories apply across taxonomic groups, and consequently, the number of professional scientists who identify themselves as ornithologists has declined. That this specific science has become part of the biological mainstream though, is in itself a testament to the field s importance.
Humans observed birds from the earliest times, and Stone Age drawings are among the oldest indications of an interest in birds, primarily due to their importance as a food source. One of the first key texts on ornithology was Aristotle s Historia Animalium (350 BC), in which he noted the habit of bird migration, moulting, egg laying and life span. He also propagated several, unfortunately false myths, such as the idea that swallows hibernated in winter. This idea became so well established, that even as late as 1878, Elliott Coues (an American surgeon, historian and ornithologist) could list as many as 182 contemporary publications dealing with the hibernation of swallows. In the Seventeenth century, Francis Willughby (1635-1672) and John Ray (1627-1705) came up with the first major system of bird classification that was based on function and morphology rather than on form or behaviour, this was a major breakthrough in terms of scientific thought, and Willughby s Ornithologiae libri tres (1676), completed by John Ray is often thought to mark the beginning of methodical ornithology. It was not until the Victorian era though, with the emergence of the gun and the concept of natural history, that ornithology emerged as a specialized science. This specialization led to the formation in Britain of the British Ornithologists Union in 1858, and the following year, its journal The Ibis was founded.
This sudden spurt in ornithology was also due in part to colonialism. The bird collectors of the Victorian era observed the variations in bird forms and habits across geographic regions, noting local specialization and variation in widespread species. The collections of museums and private collectors grew with contributions from various parts of the world. This spread of the science meant that many amateurs became interested in bird watching - with real possibilities to contribute knowledge. As early as 1916, Julian Huxley wrote a two part article in the Auk, noting the tensions between amateurs and professionals and suggesting that the vast army of bird-lovers and bird-watchers could begin providing the data scientists needed to address the fundamental problems of biology. Organizations were started in many countries and these grew rapidly in membership, most notable among them being the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), founded in 1889 in Britain and the Audubon Society, founded in 1885 in the US.
Today, the science of ornithology is thriving, with many practical and economic applications such as the management of birds in food production (grainivorous birds, such as the Red billed Quelea are a major agricultural pest in parts of Africa), and the study of birds, as carriers of human diseases, such as Japanese Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, and H5N1. Of course, many species of birds have been driven to (or near) extinction by human activities, and hence ornithology has played an important part in conservation, utilising many location specific approaches. Critically endangered species such as the California Condor have been captured and bred in captivity, and it is hoped that many more birds can be saved in a like manner.
CONTENTS.

PART I .
P REFACE
C HAPTER I.-Introductory, breeding seasons and hints on birds nesting
C HAPTER II.-Habits and haunts of birds, with general description of types of eggs
PART II .
I NDEX .-List of birds that are known to breed in India, with duration of breeding season for each species tabulated
PART III .
C ALENDAR showing the birds of which the eggs may be looked for during each month of the year; with description of nest and the situation where usually placed
J ANUARY
F EBRUARY
M ARCH
A PRIL
M AY
J UNE
J ULY
A UGUST
S EPTEMBER
O CTOBER
N OVEMBER
D ECEMBER
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

T AKING THE B ROADBILL S N EST
N EST OF THE K ING V ULTURE ( Otogyps calvus )
N EST OF THE THICK-BILLED F LOWERPECKER ( Piprisoma agile )
N EST OF THE RED-HEADED T IT ( Egithaliscus erythrocephalus )
B REEDING PLACE OF THE T ERNS
N EST OF THE WHITE-THROATED F ANTAIL ( Leucocerca fuscoventris )
N EST OF THE WHITE-BROWED W ARBLER ( Abrornis albosuperciliaris )
N EST OF THE YELLOW-THROATED B ROADBILL ( Psarisomus dalhousi )
N EST OF THE W HISTLING T EAL ( Dendrocygna arcuata )
B REEDING PLACE OF THE LITTLE C ORMORANTS
N EST OF THE YELLOW-BELLIED F ANTAIL ( Chelidorhynx hypoxantha )
N EST OF THE BROWN FISH O WL ( Ketupa ceylonensis )
N EST OF THE PURPLE H ONEYSUCKER ( Arachnechthra asiatica )
PREFACE.

T EN years ago when beginning to make a collection of birds eggs in this country, I was struck by the diversity in the breeding seasons, and the want of any guide to assist the beginner in his researches. Since then I have kept a continuous record of my observations, and, with the intention of eventually publishing them, I have endeavoured to gather together, as far as possible, the recorded experiences of others; and this little book is the result. Many friends have kindly placed their collections at my disposal, and for a great deal of the information regarding the rarer birds, I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. A. O. Hume, in permitting the use of extracts from a draft of his book on Indian Birds Nests and Eggs, which has as yet only been printed for private circulation: to this source are due the valuable observations from Sikkim by Mr. Gammie; from Hansi (Punjab), the Central Provinces, and Bundelkhund by Mr. Blewitt; from the Nilgiris by Miss Cockburn and Messrs. Davidson and Wait, and by many others from various parts of India, while the information from Bengal is chiefly due to Mr. Parker. Of private collections from which notes have been taken those of Captains Cock and C. H. T. Marshall, and of Mr. W. E. Brooks, were the most important, and to all these gentlemen my thanks are due.
The notes from upper India are comparatively full and complete, but as regards Eastern and Peninsular India they are as yet very meagre, more especially from the latter. A good deal of new information has been collected since the manuscript of this book was put in hand, and more is being accumulated month by month; but the knowledge already gained is valuable as far as it goes, and believing that it is better that what is known should be made at once available to the public, rather than that indefinite delay should be made for fuller detail, I offer no further apology for the incompleteness of the record.
This book will not in any way supplant the carefully detailed work which Mr. Hume is compiling on the nidification of. Indian birds, but it will supplement it by abstracting, in a convenient form, certain points of information, and so facilitate the direction of research into the proper channels. Mr. Hume s work, when published, and, it is to be hoped, it soon will be, should be in the hands of every lover of Natural History in this country.
No details are here given as to the materials and apparatus necessary in forming a collection and in preparing and preserving specimens: those who wish to commence collections of eggs or of skins of birds, will find all information as to details in Mr. Hume s I NDIAN O RNITHOLOGICAL C OLLECTOR S V ADE -M ECUM , a most useful little book published by the Calcutta Central Press Company (5, Council House Street, Calcutta), and priced one rupee: but with reference to collections of eggs, it is necessary to repeat here that eggs are scientifically worthless as specimens, unless the species of bird to which they belong has been accurately ascertained ; and to do this effectually it is necessary for all except the most practised observers that the skin of the parent bird should be in all cases obtained and preserved.
If egg collectors, into whose hands this book may come, would kindly communicate to me any notes they may make from their own experience in correction or extension of the information now recorded, it would confer a great obligation on me, and enable me, in case a second edition may be required, to render it more complete and satisfactory than I am able to do in t