THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 90o 



Beebe records an ^gg o\\\y 37 mm. in breadth and his other 

 measurements also fall within the limits given above. 



General Habits . — Pere David records that this Tragopan "lives a 

 solitary life in the vi^ooded mountains, seldom leaving the thick 

 cover, and feeding on seeds, fruits and leaves. Its cry is very 

 loud, and most nearly imitated by the syllable oua two or three 

 times repeated, whence its Chinese name Oua-oua-hj, but it is 

 also called Ko-ky, or Kiao-ky, meaning Horned-Fowl, and Sin- 

 tsiou-ky, or Starred-Fowl, on account of the grej'' spots adorning 

 the plumage. The flesh is said to be capital eating. I am 

 informed that this bird is not met with under about 10,000 feet 

 above the sea level." 



E, H. Wilson, in his most interesting book, " A Naturalist in 

 Western China", writes : 



" This strikingly handsome bird is fairly common in parts of 

 Western Hupeh and Western Szechuan, between 4,000 and 9,000 

 feet altitude, frequenting woods and shrub-clad countr}'. It pre- 

 fers steep mountain slopes, covered with aborescent vegetation, and 

 in summer, when the foliage is on the trees, is most diflicult to 

 find. In winter it may occasionally be surprised, early in the 

 morning or evening near the margins of cultivation and close to 

 thick cover. Like all the woodland pheasants, these birds will 

 only take wing when hard pressed and usually afford only a 

 chance snapshot. A heavy bird^ the Tragopan flies almost at 

 the speed of an ordinary pheasant, and always makes straight for 

 dense brush or timber. The Chinese entrap them alive in the 

 same way they do the Golden and Amherst Pheasants. They are 

 esteemed highly as pets, and they sell for from 3 to 5 ounces of 

 silver each, — a high price in these regions. The markings on the 

 wattle are supposed to resemble the Chinese character for longe- 

 vit}'', hence the common name Tso-chi. They are regarded 

 as birds of good omen, bringing good luck and long life 

 to their foi'tunate owners. Every year numbers are brought 

 down to Ichang for sale, where they find ready purchasers. 

 In the mountains they apparently adapt themselves to captivity 

 but in the Yangtze Valley proper the climate is too hot for them. 



" The short tail and heavy body make the birds appear heavy 

 in flight, and shooting them would be moderately easy did one but 

 get fair chances. The Tragopan is a good table bird, but to 

 shoot them for this purpose alone would be gross scandalism. 

 They feed on grain and berries, and are especially fond of the fruits 

 of the Cotoneaster and allied shrubs, and of maize. South of 

 Ichangf this bird is much rarer than in the mountains North- 

 West of this town, and in Western Szechuan. " 



In Yunnan Beebe found them in what he calls most uninter- 

 esting country, the forest being stunted Rhododendron mixed with 

 bamboo stubble. 



