(a) Bright blue
1. The Common Green Bulbul ([14]). (Bright green bird with blue moustache.) 2. The Indian Pitta ([109]). 3. The Indian Roller or “Blue Jay” ([115]). (Wings and tail composed of light and dark blue bars.) 4. The Common Indian Bee-eater ([116]). (A green bird with turquoise throat, black streak through eye, and two long bristle-like feathers in tail.) 5. The Blue-tailed Bee-eater ([117]). 6. The Common Kingfisher ([119]). 7. The White-breasted Kingfisher ([120]). 8. The Green Parrots ([132]-[134]). (Green birds with blue in their long tails.) 9. The Common Peafowl ([170]). 10. The Purple Coot ([175]). (A large purple-blue bird with red bill, legs, and frontal shield.)
(b) Dark blue
1. The Malabar Whistling Thrush ([11]). (A black bird with cobalt patches.) 2. The Nuthatches ([23] and [24]). (Little short-tailed birds which go about in small flocks and pick insects off the bark of trees.) 3. The Swallows ([88]-[90]). (Upper parts glossy, dark blue.) 4. The Indian Roller or “Blue Jay” ([115]). (Wings and tail composed of light and dark blue bars.)
(c) Slaty or greyish blue
The Indian Blue Rock Pigeon ([165]).
(d) Blue and black birds
(Vide [Black and blue birds].)
III. BROWN
The number of birds of which the predominating hue is brownish is very considerable, and as these usually have nothing striking about their appearance, they are among the most difficult birds to identify. Birds which appear to be a uniform earthy brown will be found on closer inspection almost invariably to be brighter in hue below than above. This is largely counteracted by the fact that the lower parts are in the shade. Most birds which look a uniform earthy brown are in reality a cream colour below, and are described as such in systematic works on ornithology. But as this book is intended for the field naturalist, I shall describe them as they appear to the ordinary observer.