THE GAME BIRDS OF INDIA. 195 



cauf^ht. It must be remembered, however, that, the Sylhetees and other 

 people of the Assam N'alley who trap these birds in great numbers 

 keep them in tiny cages, and make no real attempt to domesticate 

 or tame them. As a matter of fact these people actually sew the 

 poor birds' ej-elids together as soon as they are caught, in order to 

 prevent them knocking themselves to pieces in the cages. When 

 thus blinded, the birds crouch in one corner and refuse to move, 

 and even if released from the cage, make no attempt to escape. I 

 have sometimes bought some of these birds in order to release them 

 from this cruelty, but I must say that they seem to suffer less from 

 the eyelids being fastened than from the self-inflicted injuries once 

 the eyelids were freed of the stitches. The Hill-Tribes catch these 

 pheasants in mauj- ways. The small brushwood fence with well- 

 noosed little gaps at intervals has often been described as that used 

 for other birds ; another plan is to noose the sides of a path on 

 which grain has been thrown, and yet another means employed with 

 success is to peg down a decoy bird, surround it on all sides with 

 nooses and then secure any bird which comes either to fight with or 

 examine the decoy. I should mention that I have never known a 

 decoy bird either drum, crow, or in any other way challenge his wild 

 rivals to a fight, at the same time his fluttering attempts to regain 

 his freedom accompanied by indignant squawks and squeaks as the 

 string checks his efforts seem equally effective in attracting notice. 



GENNiEUS HOKSFIELDl WILLIAMSI. 



Williams' Kalij Pheasant. 



aennacem tciUiamsi, Gates, Man. Game-B. 1., p. 342 (1898); id, Ibis. 

 1903, p. 104 ; id. Jour. B.N.H.S. XVI., p. 86 (1907) ; Ghigi, Mem. Acad, 

 Bologna (6), v., p. 142 (1908). 



Gennceus turnen, Finn., Jonr. Asiat. Soc. Beng. XIX., pt. 2, p. 146 (1901.) 

 Genncmus macdonaldi, Gates, Jour. B.N.H.S. XVII., p. 10 (1906); Ghigi, 

 Mem. Acad. Bologna, (6), v., p. 142 (1908). 

 Gennceus ornmaneyi, Gates?. Type in B.M. 



Vernacular Names. — Yit {Burmese), Rak (Arrahin). 



Bescription. — Adult Male. — Crest black; head, neck, back and 

 wing-coverts grey, this effect in colour being formed by numerous 

 tiny bars of wdiite or buffy white on a black ground ; feathers of lower 

 back, rump and upper tail-coverts black, crossed with several narrow 

 bars of white, and with broad white edges, these edges being suffi- 

 ciently bold to make these portions of the plumage contrast strongly 

 with the tail and upper back. Tail like the back, but more boldly 

 marked with bars rather than with vermiculations. 



Visible portions of the wing quills like their coverts, inner webs 

 of primaries brown, obsoletely mottled with darker brown, whole 

 lower plumage black, like all other sub-species inhabiting a range of 

 country between two species, this form varies considerably on the 



