170 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HLST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXV. 



half a dozen to a dozen, but maj sometimes be seen in the company 

 of Jungle-Fowl, and sometimes two oi" three old cocks will be 

 found together after the breeding season is ov^er. 



Dimng the breeding season they are said to be very pugnacious, 

 " Mountaineer " writes : 



" The Kalij is very pugnacious, and tlie males have frecjuent 



" battles. On one occasion I had shot a ma^e, which lay 



" fluttering on the ground in its death struggles when another 



" rushed out of the jtingle and attacked it with the greatest 



" fury, though 1 was standing re-loading the gun close by. 



" The male often makes a peculiar drumming noise with its 



" wings, not unlike the sound produced hj shaking in the air 



" a thick piece of cloth. It is only heard in the pairing 



" season ; but whether to attract the attention of the females 



"or in defiance of his fellows I cannot say, as I have never 



" seen the bird in the act, though often led to the spot where 



" they were by the soimd." 



The sound is undoubtedly one resorted to as a challenge to fight, 



and in some parts of its habitat it is imitated as a decoy to entice 



the male birds into snares and traps. 



Nowhere do these birds exist in sufiicient numbers now-a-days 

 to make their pursuit worth while unless othei" game can be bagged 

 at the same time. When this is the case they are well worth 

 working hard for, as they are strong fast fliers Avhen fairly on the 

 wing, take a lot of bringing down, and when killed are excellent 

 for the table. 



Hume remarks that : — 



" Generally in the hills jou may pick up three or four birds 

 " in a day, by beating all likely patches of cover near fields, 

 " but it is rare with this species to make a good bag. There 

 " are, however, places where you may come across the Kalij 

 " almost as thick as Pheasants in a Norfolk cover. Such 

 " places there used to be close to Bhim and Naukuchia Tal, 

 " small lakes not far from Naini Tal, but at a much lower 

 " level, and at the former of these I once, early in November, 

 " killed eleven and a half brace in less than three houi-s." 

 Wilson writes of this Kalij as a very tame and confiding sort of 

 bird ; he sa3's ; 



" It appears to be more unsuspicious of man than the rest of 

 " our Pheasants ; it comes much nearer his habitations." 

 And again : 



" They are never very shy, and where not unceasingly 



" annoyed by sportsmen or shikaris, are as tame as an 3^ sports- 



" man could wish."' 



Since the days when Wilson wrote the Kalij has evidently learnt 



a lot, aiid now one requires plenty of patience and hard work to be 



