TRE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 9 



Two points in this excellent account require comment. First 

 as regards their flight ; few sportsmen will agree with Wilson's 

 description of it, and all my correspondents give the Cheer credit 

 for being a most difficult bii'd to shoot, not only on account of its 

 great speed in flight, but also because of its habit of hurling itself 

 headlong down cliff" sides with almost closed wings, giving the 

 snappiest of snap-shots, unless one is close to the level at which 

 it intends to alight. Close to this point it gradually moderates its 

 pace, somewhat opening its wings, spreading its tail and in the 

 words of Hume — " sweeps off in graceful curves riglit or left, 

 shortly dropping suddenly, almost as if shot, into some patch of 

 low cover." 



The second point which atti*acts notice is the statement that 

 these birds roost on the ground ; doubtless they do so some- 

 times, but over most of their habitat I am told they roost 

 either on stunted trees, high bushes or on the summit of high 

 rocks. 



The description given by Mr. Wimbush of the demonstration 

 made by a pair of pheasants in defence of their young shows that 

 attitudes supposed to be awe-inspiring are indulged in hj Cheer. 

 Finn corroborates this, and remarks : — 



"This species is not supposed to show off", but a vicious 



"male in the Calcutta Zoo used to show off* in the Common 



" Pheasant's attitude aslant with spread tail when trying to 



" attack, and as the show position so commonly seems to be 



" the fighting one too, I expect the species does thus display 



" when courting. This bird made a murmuring note when 



"approached, like the Kalij Pheasant." 



It is said to be an excellent bird for the table and one of my 



correspondents adds "It is the only game bird I have shot in 



India which in any way reminds me of the English Pheasant and 



the flesh, especially, if kept for a short time in the cold weather is 



much more like that of true Phasianiis than that of the Jungle 



fowl or Kali]'.'' 



Genus— LOPHURA. 



The Genus Lophura contains three species of Pheasants, which 

 are rather closely allied to those of the genus Gennceus, but the tail 

 is differently shaped, though compressed as in that group, and the 

 naked portion of the face is prodxiced above the forehead and again 

 below the cheeks into the fleshy pendant wattles. 



The wing is similar to that of the Kalij Pheasants, the first 

 primary equal to the ninth or tenth, the fifth and sixth sub-equal 

 and longest. In both Gennceus and Loi^lmra, the tail is composed 

 of sixteen feathers, but in the former the central tail feathers are 



