THE GAME BIRDS 01 INDIA. 337 



notliiiig has as yet been ascertained to corroborate this belief, reason- 

 able though it appears to be. 

 Nidification. —Nothing recorded . 



General Habits.— 'Pere David's excellent account of this grand 



pheasant's habits is still the only one in existence. He \ATites : — ■ 



"This nxagnificent Lophophorus inhabits the highest ranges 



" of Moupin, the Eastern Kokonoor and the Western frontiers 



" of Setchuan. It goes about in small parties in the open grass 



" lands above the region of the forests, but returns to the trees 



"to roost and sleep. Its constant food consists of vegetable 



"substances and principally of succulent roots which he digs 



" out very cleverly with his powerful and broad edged bill ; 



"as he searches especially for those of a yellow Fritillaria 



"called Prte-?7?ow, the people of the country have given him 



" the name of Pae mou-hj. In this comitry they also call it 



" Ho-tlian-ky (the fowl of burning charcoal) the male adult, 



" splendid in his metallic plumage. It is a very foolish bird 



" whose flight is very powerful. His cry to which he gives 



" vent in the very early morning and when it is about to 



"ram, consists of three or four piercing and well-divided 



■"notes." 



From some information which I have received, Lophojjhorus 



'Vhuysii should also be found in Yunnan and Kowytcheon ; it is 



certain, in any case, that one meets with it in a great portion of 



Eastern Tibet, but it is rare everywhere, and it will not be long 



before it disappears altogether. The Chmese constantly hunt this 



superb fowl and use every means to collect it as the flesh is very 



delicate. The specimens which I have sent to the Natural History 



Museum, South Kensington, were killed at an elevation of 4,500 



metres. 



{To be continued.) 



