THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 891 



into a tree, where it will sit very close, in amongst the thicker 

 leaves and branches, and may or may not utter its call. 

 Flying from its perch when the sportsman gets closer than 

 it thinks safe, the Tragopan gives an exceedingly difficult 

 shot as, like the Koklas, it goes off with its nsnal loud whirr, 

 and seems to acquire tremendous pace almost from the 

 moment it leaves the tree. As a matter of fact, I do not think 

 it can really be anything like as fast as the Koklas on the wing 

 in spite of its appearance to the contrary, as I have seen one 

 easily overhauled by a Golden Eagle {A. chrysaeius), whereas 

 a Koklas can as easily out-pace the latter, for thoiigh I have 

 seen many a long chase of these Pheasants by Golden Eagles, 

 I have never seen one caught, and so long as it can take 

 retuge in foi*est countr}^, it is safe. 



" The Hen Bird is much more prone than the Cock Bird to 

 sit close when taking refuge in a tree on being flushed, and 

 the}^ are very difficult to see when thus hiding, I have spent 

 as much as ten minutes looking for one in amongst the dense 

 foliage, and finally have had to dislodge her with stones, and 

 even then she only took to wang after some dozens had been 

 thrown, and one had nearly hit her. 



" The Tragopan is very seldom found in open country and 

 I have not even seen them come out into the open glades in 

 the forest so beloved by the Monal and Koklas. 



" The call when disturbed sounds something like wank, 

 wank, wank, uttered at intervals of a second or so. 



" As a table delicacy the young bird is hard to beat, and 



the Tragopan, take him all round, is as handsome as he is 



sporting, and as sporting as he is good to eat." 



They are mainly, but not entirely, vegetable eaters. Principally 



they live on roots, buds and shoots, and dig deep and wide for the 



first named, and for bulbs, etc. They sometimes, at all events, eat 



grubs, beetles and similar food, but there are very few actual records 



of anything but vegetadan food having been found in their 



stomachs. 



Their call has been described to me as a cross between the 

 " honk " of a wild goose and the " mi-ao " of a peacock. This is 

 exactly how I have myself described the trumpet challenge ofBlyth's 

 Tragopan, which is a ve.y fine ringing cry which carries far, even 

 in very dense forest. 



Tragopan blythi. 

 The Grey-Bellied Hor7ied Pheasant. 



Ceriornis temmincki. — Jerd. (nee Gray), Ibis, 1870, p. 147 (Upper Assam) ; 

 Newton, Ibis, 1870, p. 520. 



Ceriornis hlythi. — Jerdon, Pr. As. Soc. Bengal, 1870, p. 60 ( Assam ), 

 Sclater, P.Z.S. 1870, pp. 163, 219, pi. 15 ; id. Ibis, 1870, p. 520 ; Gould 



