When first published in 1972, this volume contained ten colour plates by seven artists, which illustrated 85 forms. All these have been replaced in the second edition by seven plates drawn by John Henry Dick: five of these are in colour and two in monochrome, and together they illustrate 120forms. The new plates originally appeared in A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (1983) and the plates in future editions of the various volumes of the Handbook will also be taken from this source.The text of this edition has also been revised where necessary, particularly as regards distribution. In addition, five new subspecies appear while two others have been amalgamated.From reviews of previous editions:'Ever since the publication of the first of the ten volumes of the Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, in 1968, this has been the much-praised standard work on the birds of the subcontinent...These ten volumes have been used so much over the past ten years or so that it is unnecessary todo other than remind readers of the excellent layout, generally good cross-referencing and usefulness of these volumes.' British Birds