THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. It)7 



Wilson took its eggs at 9,500 feet in the IJliagirutteo Valley. 

 Hume Ibimd it, on the other hand, breeding as low down as \ ,'H)0 

 feet in the Dhoon, and doubtless it may be found at even lower 

 elevations than this. 



The nest is mui-h the same as that of all others of the genus, i.e., 

 generally nothing more than a collection of leaves, grass and forest 

 rubbish in some hollow under the shelter of a bush, tree or bamboo 

 clump. In many instances this heap of rubbish is merely what has 

 fallen and drifted into its present situation, but sometimes apparent- 

 ly the bird does go to some trouble in scratching together the 

 material on which to deposit its eggs. 



Mr. Frederick Wilson, so well known under the nom-de-plume of 

 •• ^lountaineer ", in an interesting letter to Hume writes about the 

 breeding of this pheasant in Garhwal as follows : — 



'• The Kalij Pheasant (mnrrihi or kookera of the Paharis) is 

 " found from the foot of the hills, or rather from the tSewalik 

 " Range to the Snows, and consequently breeds at all eleva- 

 " tions up to 9,000 feet ia a few localities even higher ; I 

 "lately found the nest above the village of Sookee in the 

 •' Bhagirattee Valley, which must have been at 9,500 feet. In 

 "the Dhoon, at the foot of the hills in the lower Valleys the 

 " Kalij begins to la}^ in April. In the higher ranges it lays 

 " in May, and some birds not till the beginning or middle of 

 " June. The nest, if it can be called such, is sjeneralh' in a 

 "coppice where there is plenty of underwood, and under an 

 "overhanging stone, or thick low bush, or tuft of grass. It is 

 "merely a hole scraped in the ground. The eggs are 9 to 14 

 " in number, very like those of some domestic fowls, a yellow- 

 " ish or buffy white. Both parent birds are generally found 

 " with the young brood. Occasionally very late broods would 

 " lead one to infer, either that the Kalij sometimes has two 

 " broods in the year, or that when a nest is destroyed, they 

 " commence the business of incubation over again." 

 Other observers' remarks agree well with Wilson's description of 

 their breeding, but Major Cook once found its nest on a large low 

 bough of a tree in a hollow on the upper side of which the eggs 

 were placed. 



The only two things which seem to be an absolute necessity in 

 this Pheasant's estimation in the nesting site is ample cover and 

 water within a reasonable distance. Thin forest with thick under- 

 growth, evergreen forest with plenty of ferns, brambles and bracken, 

 ravines and water courses with rocky sides well covered with weeds, 

 &c., all seem to form equally suitable places for the nest, and in 

 addition to these it may be sometimes found in bamboo jungle, 

 especiall}^ if there is a certain amount of grass or scrub mixed with 



