THE a A Ml-: /ilED^ OF INDIA. 329 



As regards Siain, its range is ver}- indefinite, and Gyldenstolpe's 

 notes are invaluable ; he records 



" Silver Phejisants belonging to this species were rather 

 "common in the dense evercjreen iunsfles which cover the hills, 

 " dividinif Tennasserim and Assam. In the neiirhbourhood of 

 " Hat Sanuk (lat. N. 12°) especially, they were exceedingly 



'• abundant J)nring mj'- staj' in North- Western 



" ISiam I once caught a glimpse ot a Silver Pheasant when I was 

 " climbing up one of the steep hills at Doi Par Satring (lat. 



"N. 20°) It looked much more white than 



" (t. lineatiis, and was probably G. nyclhemerus ripponi.^' 

 It will be seen from Count Gyldenstolpe's discoveries that the 

 map given on page 62 of Vol. XXIII of the Society's Journal 

 will require some alteration and a great extension of the green 

 colour shewing the area inhabited by this pheasant. 



A large amount of material is still required before we can work 

 out the limits of the varioiis geographical races ol the Silver Pheas- 

 ant, and Field Naturalists should remember that very careful minutiae 

 are necessary with the data tickets of specimens to enable the 

 Museum Naturalist to formulate an outline of their different ranges. 

 Thus when birds are got near places on rivers, it is no use merely 

 to mark " shot near so and so", but it is imperative that we should 

 know whether it has been got North, East, South or West of the 

 place mentioned, and that the altitude also be given. In many 

 cases we may get two forms, or even three, within shooting distance 

 of one spot, yet a river may divide two races, whilst the other two 

 may Ve divided b}!" elevation alone, as appears to be the case in this 

 instance between typical lineatus and the two subspecies oatesi and 

 sharpei. 



Nidificaiion. — The breeding season of the Burmese Silver Pheasant 

 commences in early March, and continues throughout April and 

 Ma}'-, but, as usual with this genus of Phensaut, nests and eggs may 

 be found at odd times through a great part of the year. 1 have 

 records from various sportsmen of eggs taken in February, March 

 and April, and again in July, whilst Capt. Fielden obtained recently 

 hatched young in August at Thayetmyo. 



Hume also records eggs having been found in the middle of May. 

 It seems to breed more often in Bamboo Jungles between 2,000 

 and 3,000 feet than in the heavier jung'es and evergreen forests 

 below the former height, or in the lighter deciduous and evergreen 

 forests above the latter. 



Its favourite breeding haunts are, perhaps, in the mixed bamboo 

 and lis^ht deciduous forest which forms a ieatiire of some of the 

 Pegu Yomas, but the nest itself is nearly always placed in the 

 bamboo patches and not in the forested parts. It is certainly 

 found as high as 4,000 feet during the breeding seasons, and 



