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



" Doubtless he had treed, and they were thus beaten. We 

 •'could hear them following up his trail right far down into 

 " the hluul below, but it was miles round had we tried to get 

 " there ourselves, so reluctantly we had to give him up. 



" We noticed, as we had been told would be the case, that 

 " the birds always tried to run uphill, but when once flushed, 

 " they rose fairl}^ straight iip into the air, making a tremen- 

 " dous commotion with their wings until high enough to clear 

 " the denser vegetation. Once up as high as this, they turned 

 " and came downhill towards us, and over the dogs, either 

 " sailing down Avith half-spread wings, or, especially when it 

 " was nearly level alternately sailing and rapidly beating their 

 '• wings. When they pitched over a steep place,' they nearly 

 " closed their wings, and the pace they came at was very 

 " great, and this combined with the fact that often one only 

 " got the quickest of snap-shots at them made the shooting 

 " very difficult, much harder, we both thought, than taking 

 •' rocketing pheasants out of a home covert. 



" Most of the birds when put up by the dogs made a noise 



" which reminded us of the Common Pheasants' crow under 



" similar circumstances, but it was not as loud and might be 



" described as a harsh chuckling protest at being disturbed. 



" The crow, which is indvilged in morning and evening, is a 



" fine ringing call, quite characteristic of a true game-bird." 



It is said that the Koklas will crow in response to a clap of 



thunder or any other sudden loud noise, such as the fall of a rock 



or tree, or the firing of a gun. 



At one time round about Naini Tal the Koklas was a com- 

 paratively common bird, and Mr. S. L. Whymper tells me that he 

 has shot as many as eight birds before breakfast on " Cheena." 

 They have, however, been much shot at there as elsewhere, and are 

 certainly much less common now in all the easily got at places than 

 they were twenty-five years ago 



In ejnstola Mr. Whymper says : — * 



" The open places in the forests (Oak and Rhododendron 

 " principally) were their favourite haunts in the mornings 

 " and evenings, and they were to be found day after day at 

 " the same time in the same place, a trait which, of course, 

 " leads to their easy destruction. 



" The Koklas when young is, I think, the best of all the 

 " Indian Pheasants for the table, and is certainly the best for 

 " sport, rising very rapidly and flying with immense velocity. 



" A very curious thing in connection with these Pheasants 

 " is that I have twice known of their being f^und fast asleep 

 " (almost as if dinigged) on paths. I once myself caught in 

 " this manner a full-grown young cock, and an old sportsman 



