aSO JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXV. 



possibly a good deal higher, but, on the other hand, descends practi- 

 cally to the plains. 



The nest is the usual rough collection of leaves and bamboo spates, 

 deposited in some natural hollow and more or less protected b}'' a 

 clump of bamboo, bush or tree. Not infrequently it is placed well 

 under a clump of bamboos in amongst the roots, so that it is com- 

 pletely hidden from the passer by, but at other times it may be 

 found almost in the open. The bn-d is a close sitter, and will 

 remain on her nest until an intruder is very close, she then, 

 however, sneaks away so quietl}^ and stealthily that it is very easy 

 to overlook her. 



The number of eggs laid appears to vary between 5 and 10, whilst 

 6 or 7 are the number most often found in acomplete clutch. 

 The statements of natives quoted by Hume, to the effect that 

 these Pheasants sometimes lay 14 or 15 eggs appear to be without 

 any fou.ndation. 



The eggs are typical Gennceus eggs, that is to say like small eggs 

 of a domestic fowl. Hume thus describes them : 



" All the eggs we have obtained are of the usual hen's egg 

 "shape; they are, of com*se, unspotted, and vary from a pale 

 " yellowish to a warm pinkish cafe-au-lait colour. The shell, 

 " though fine, is very full of pores, and these with some eggs 

 " being filled with whitish chalky substance, give them the 

 " effect of being stippled all over with white specks. None 

 " of the eggs that I have seen have had any very perceptible 

 " gloss, and as a rule, they seem to be, for game birds of this 

 " class, very dull eggs." 



" The eggs vary from 1-81 to 2*03 in length, and from 1*4 



"to 1-52 in width, but the average of neai'ly 30 eggs is 1-97 



"by 1-46." 



The few eggs I have seen including some of those described by 



Hume which are now in the British Museum, agree well with the 



above description, but the eggs strike one as being singailarly level 



in colouration. All are a pale stone buff, varying very little in 



depth of colouring, and I have seen none which would really come 



under Hume's description of " warm cafe-au-lait." A few have a 



tinge of this colour and one pretty clutch of G, given to me by 



Mr. Wickham, is quite a bright, though pale, pinkish buff. 



The texture is fine and close with a faint surface gloss in fresh 



eggs, and the shell is very stout and compact. My series, a poor 



one combined with Hume's and others gives a much smaller average 



size, 1-8G" X 1-42" (47-3 x 36-1 mm.), than that recorded above. 



Oates says that : 



" The chickens, as soon as they are hatched, are very strong 

 " on their legs and run with great speed. I was fortunate 

 " enough to capture portions of four broods. It is astonishing 



