THE MOONAL PHEASANTS. 233 



come out to feed, they may be seen in the open glades of the 

 forest and on the green slopes above. At that time no one 

 would imagine they were half so numerous as they really are ; 

 but, as the cold season approaches, and the rank grass and 

 herbage dies away, and they begin to collect together, the 

 woods seem full of them, and in some places hundreds may be 

 put up in a day's walk. 



"In summer, the greater number of the males, and some of 

 the females, ascend to near the limits of the forests where the 

 hills attain to a great elevation, and may often be seen on the 

 grassy slopes a considerable distance above these limits. 



" In autumn, they all descend into the forest, frequenting 

 those parts where the ground is thickly covered with decayed 

 leaves, under which they search for grubs ; and they descend 

 lower and lower as winter sets in and the ground becomes 

 frozen or covered with snow. . . . 



"The females keep more together than the males; they also 

 descend lower down the hills, and earlier and more generally 

 leave the sheltered woods for exposed parts or the vicinity of 

 the villages on the approach of winter. Both sexes are often 

 found separately in considerable numbers. On the lower part 

 or exposed side of the hill, scores of females and young birds 

 may be met with, without a single old male ; while higher up, 

 or on the sheltered side, none but males may be found. In 

 summer they are more separated, but do not keep in individual 

 pairs, several being often found together. 



" It may be questioned whether they do pair or not in 

 places where they are at all numerous ; if they do, it would 

 appear that the union is dissolved as soon as the female begins 

 to sit, for the male seems to pay no attention whatever to her 

 whilst sitting, or to the young brood when hatched, and is 

 seldom found with them. 



" The call of the Moonal is a loud, plaintive whistle, which 

 is often heard in the forest at daybreak or towards evening, 

 and occasionally at all hours of the day. 



