THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 17 



unless erected; bill from gape about 30 mm., the same as from the 

 feathers of the forehead to the tip. 



The Voting Male is like the adult female, but is duller and 

 more mottled with blackish above; the breast is more brown, and 

 less chestnut, and has not got the well-defined white edgings to the 

 feathers of the lower breast and flanks. The tail feathers are more 

 barred with black and not quite so rich a chestnut. 



Colours of the Soft Paris. — Iris brown or dull blue-brown ; 

 facial skin dull fleshy red ; bill pale yellowish horny ; feet and legs 

 dull fleshy pink. 



In the Autumn in the first moult the young male appears to 

 put on the complete plumage of the njale, i-etaining a few feathers 

 here and there of the female, which aie, presumably, dropped duiing 

 the ensuing winter, and replaced with adult feathers. 



Tliere is a young male in the British Museum collection in 

 this stage with awing of 210 mm. and no crest. 



Distrihution. — Siam, Annam and Camljodia, and it lias also 

 been reported from the Southern Shan Hills and the Eastern Lao 

 Country. It possibly occurs a'so in the Eastern parts of Karennee 

 from whence 1 have had it doubtfully repoited. 



Nidijication. — Nothing recorded. Eggs laid in captivity are 

 said to be indistinguishable from those ot Lcphura rvfa. This 

 bird has bred in the Zoological Society's gardens in London with 

 Silver Pheasants during a period when hybiids were attracting 

 much attention, to satisfy which very useless curiosity, a good deal 

 of experimental work was done by people who forgot that environ 

 ment alone could create stable sub-species such as now exist. 



General Habits. — There is absolutely nothing on record as to 

 this bird's habits. It appears to haunt hcav}^ forest at low eleva- 

 tions, where thei-e is a great deal of undergrowth and where the 

 climate is so damp that most of this is evergreen. 



Sir H. Schomburgh's interesting notes on some captive birds 

 which appeared in the Ibis (1(SG4) gives us some insight into its 

 habits. 



He writes : — 



" The Kai-pha I speak about was quite tame, and ran about 



" in the verandah of my residence Although 



"the Kai-pha, in splendour of plumage cannot be compared 

 "either with the Gold or the Silver Pheasant, still there is 

 " something giaceful in its figure and stately in its walk 

 " . . 1 allowed him to leave his coop and to walk about 

 " in the house, where he picked up insects, apparently more 

 " congenial to him than the everyday food of paddy (rice in 

 " the husk). When he saw a spider or ant crawl up the walls 

 " in the room, he would fl}'^ up Fcveral feet to catch it. He 

 " was very partial to plantains and bananas, indeed to almost 



I 



