216 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



by sportsmen lianlly worth shooting. Altliough armed with very powerful spurs, 

 they are said by some observers to be not <iiiarrelsoiue, and several males and females 

 will live very quietly together. All these sjjecies are omnivorous, eating grain, grass, 

 leaves, see<ls, fruits, insects, etc. The end of the hackles of G. sonnentti are very 

 peculiar, being formed of a singularly brittle substance like a fine shaving in texture. 



The sul>-faniily Phasianinie contains five genera, Itkdijiiiis, Euplocamtig, Lobio- 

 phasis, Thuunndea, and I'ltasianus, comj)rising over forty species, some of which are 

 the most beautiful of the Pliasianiihe. The nicmljcrs of the genus first mentioned, 

 known as the blood-pheasants, are by .some classed with the jiartridges, but it would 

 seem that they should more properly bo placed with the birds of this family. They 

 are al]iine s]iecies, the /. criiciitig, inhabiting the Iliniinalchs at a height of ten thou- 

 sand til fourteen thousand feet. The tarsi are arnu'il with numerous spurs, as many 

 as five on one leg and four on the other having been observed on the males. Thn-c 

 8])ecies are known, the one mentioned, which is found in Nepal and Sikkim, the /. [/eqf- 

 fi'oiji, from Moujiin in north China and Thibet, and the /. shiohsis from Chcusi. 

 Very little is known of the habits of the two last, but the longer-known species has 

 been met with in its native wilds by several com])etent naturalists. The T. criieiUia 

 goes in llocks of twenty or thirty individuals, always in the immediate vicinity of the 

 snow, but near the forests. In winter it burrows under the snow for protection 

 against storm and the severity of the tem])er.ature at the great elev.ations at which it 

 lives. Its princi|)al food consists of the tops of the pine and juniper, berries and 

 moss. Its flesh has a strong flavor, and is not very tender. The flight is of very 

 short duration, and it quickly runs to shelter. 



Euplocamtis contains numerous species, some fourteen or more, and has by differ- 

 ent writers been divided into several sulvgenera, but these h.ave not been geiu'rallv 

 adopted. The species may be classed in three divisions, — the Hreb.aeks, the silver aiul 

 the kalij ])heasants. The firet of these is represented by six or eight species ; the 

 second by about four, and the third by three or four. The firebacks are of two styles, 

 those with short, s(juare, hen-like tails observed in both sexes, and those with broad, 

 rather lengthened tails. They are birds of very rich plumage, the lower portion of 

 the back being bright, fiery, metallic red, the face is covered with bare skin extending 

 above the eyes, in some s])ecies almost like horns, deep blue or bright red in color, 

 and certain ones also are adorned with full ujiright crests. Tliey are natives of Siam, 

 the Malay ]>eninsu1a, Sumatra, Borneo, and Formosa. The sjiecies of the last-named 

 island, K. swinhoi, may not strictly be included among the true firebacks, as it has 

 none of the fiery c(dor on the back, this part being black, the feathers margined with 

 brilliant blue, but the entire scapulars are a deep chestnut red. The rufous-tailed 

 firebacks are the smallest species of the group, liave no crests, and the females are also 

 armed with shar]i spin's. Hut little is known of the habits of these s]>lendid birds, 

 save that they frecjuent thick forests, go iu small bands of live or six individuals, feed 

 on berries, leaves, insects, and various grubs, are difficult to flush, but when on the 

 wing fly rapidly and for a considerable distaiu'e, and are very jiugnacious. Nothing 

 is known of the nidification, but an egg obtained from a captured female of ^'. rUilloti, 

 ■was large, smooth, and of a pale cafe ate lait color. The Siamese fireback, II. proelattis, 

 is a particularly graceful and beautiful bird. It has a long blue uprinht crest, the 

 shafts bare of webs at the base; neck, l)reast, and back bluish-ash color, mottled with 

 black ; middle of back golden ; runi]) and n|iper tail-coverts bl.ack, with blue and green 

 reflections; the feathers margined with deep velvety crimson. The flanks and under 



