SPORT IN WESTERN CHINA 123 



The eggs are described by Pratt as being " light olive-dun 

 colour." 1 Brooding commences about beginning of June and 

 possibly earlier. By the end of July the " chicks " are of good 

 size and strong on the wing. 



According to I'Abbe David, ^ the " Blue-Eared Pheasant " 

 {Crossoptilun auritum) occurs in the north-west of Szechuan 

 and extends northwards to the Kokonor region, but is every- 

 where rare. He also says it is called " Ma che " (Ma ky), a 

 name cited above as applied to the Thibetan-Eared Pheasant. 

 I have no personal knowledge of this Blue Crossoptilun, but in 

 the neighbourhood of Sungpan I was informed that " Ma che " 

 occur, but are rare. I had presumed the white kind was meant, 

 since the vernacular name was the same, but very probably I 

 was mistaken. 



In size and shape the Blue Crossoptilun is described as being 

 similar to the Thibetan species ; the ear-tufts are longer ; body, 

 slate-blue ; tail-coverts passing from slate-blue to metallic 

 black, lateral tail-coverts pure white in basal half ; under-throat, 

 white; eye-patch, blood-red ; feet, coral-red. Female similar in 

 plumage to male, but slightly smaller in size. 



The specimens David sent to Europe he secured in Peking 

 and I can find no record of any specimens having been shot 

 in north-west Szechuan by a foreigner. Future travellers 

 will do well to investigate this bird more fully, for there is a 

 possibility of the species being distinct. 



MONAL PHEASANT 



Scattered through the same region as the White Crossoptilun, 

 only at greater altitudes, occurs the magnificent " Monal 

 Pheasant" [Lophophonis Ihuysi), at once the most gorgeous and 

 rarest of all game-birds found in these regions. Both David 

 and Pratt comment on the rarity of this bu'd, and my ex- 

 perience is in accord with theirs. The King of Chiala detailed 

 hunters specially for the purpose of securing specimens for 

 Zappey, but no birds could be found. I was informed this bird 

 was comparatively common east-north-east of Sungpan Ting, 



^ The Snows of Thibet, p. 202. 



^ Les Oiseaux de la Chine, i. p. 406. 



