768 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLP:TIN. 



Our house-boat 



HOA^E OF THE GREAT ARGUS AND PEACOCK PHEASANTS, 

 eastern tributary of the Pahang River in the leech infested jungle of th 



t;iiiitd jiliotonraplis and specimens of many of 

 tliem. 



Although we could at first obtain no reliable 

 information regarding pheasants, success again 

 was with us and we were able to secure an 

 abundance of data at first hand concerning the 

 Crested, (Lophura), and the Crestless, (Aco- 

 mtis), Firebacks; the wonderful Bornean Argus, 

 (Argusianiis), and, rarest of all, the White- 

 Tailed Wattled Pheasant, (Lobiophasis). We 

 found and photographed the dancing place of 

 the great Argus, and of both this and the White- 

 Tailed bird we obtained living and dead speci- 

 mens. A second trip later on gave us still 

 more data regarding both. 



In Java we traversed the entire island and 

 then went to Madura and to Billiton off the 

 coast of Sumatra. By steamer, raft, sampan, 

 and automobile we pursued all rumors of the 

 Java Peafowl and Junglefowl and found both 

 species. Study of the artificial native hybridi- 

 zation of the latter, revealed a multitude of in- 

 teresting facts. 



Our next trip from Singapore took us north- 

 ward to Kuala Lumpur in the Malay Penin- 

 sula. We followed a trail up to the very crest 

 of the main mountain range where great tree- 

 ferns run riot, and from here on to Kuala Lipis, 

 making numerous stops and side trips. Then, 

 witli a crew of five Malays and a Chinaman we 

 started on a long cruise in a government house- 

 boat down the Pahang River and up its unex- 

 plored tributaries. The luxuriant vegetation 

 and abundant life was of extreme interest, but 

 the work of finding and studying the pheasants 

 was laborious in the extreme. This was due to 

 the density and thorniness of the undergrowth 

 combined with the presence of myriads of land 

 leeches, scores of which feasted on our blood 

 whenever we left the boat. 



Having found all the pheasant groups of this 

 region, we stopped our downward journey when 

 we reached a zone near the eastern coast which 

 was being ravaged by cholera. Here we made 

 our way through the jungle for miles, at last 

 reaching the newly laid tracks of the trans- 



