THE CROW-PHEASANT 225 



as a " mincing gait." He evidently does not mean 

 to trip, for he lifts his feet absurdly high at each step. 

 He never hops ; he would not do anything so vulgar. 



The manner in which he picks up his food is in 

 accordance with his gait. He does not, like the hoopoe 

 or the common or garden fowl, greedily gobble up 

 everything he comes across. He picks and chooses. 

 He gives one the idea that he is an epicure. Whether 

 this is so or not, he undoubtedly feeds with great 

 caution. 



His whole attitude is that of looking before he leaps. 

 He goes systematically along a hedge, casting, as he 

 progresses, frequent glances to right and left, oc- 

 casionally pulling something small out of the ground — 

 presumably a grub or an insect. Now and again, he 

 will penetrate the hedge, for, like small boys, he is 

 addicted to worming his way into dense thickets merely 

 for the fun of the thing. 



Having eaten up everything to his taste in the 

 vicinity of the hedge, the crow-pheasant will take to 

 the open, progressing with the same mincing steps and 

 looking about with the utmost wariness, and if he 

 perceives a human being, he will at once make for the 

 nearest tree. If the coast seems clear, the bird con- 

 tinues his stately progress. Suddenly he espies a 

 grasshopper. He then casts off his phlegmatic air and 

 makes a most undignified dash at the insect. The 

 latter is usually too quick for him, and hops off, but 

 the crow-pheasant is not to be denied ; he jumps after 

 it, being assisted by his wings. 



An exciting chase usually ensues, in which it is not 

 Q 



