1200 species of birds, in 20 Orders and numerous Families, are known to occur in the Indian subcontinent. This Handbook describes the 1200 species by distribution, habits, breeding biology, diet, voice, and other features. Over 100 plates and systematic keys in the text aid identification.Maps show the distribution of many migratory and spatially restricted forms, and a number of line drawings illustrate diagnostic features such as bills and feet. This new Compact edition brings together the text of all ten volumes of the original Handbook, with 106 plates by the famous American bird painter John Henry Dick depicting all the bird species found in that region. The text and black-and-white text illustrations of the Handbook appear here photographically reduced by 30%, with four pages of the original occupying one page of the Compact Edition. They remain legible to the normal eye, however. The colour plates appear in the same size as in the originaleditions.