THE CRESTED FIRE-BACKED PHEASANTS. 245 



neck and chest chestnut, edged on the sides with white ; those 

 of the breast and sides of the belly black, usually mottled with 

 chestnut and margined with white. Tail dark chestnut; naked 

 sides of the head and feet like those of the male, but paler. 

 Total length, 24 inches; wing, 10 ; tail, 7-6 ; tarsus, y6. 



Range. — Siam and Southern Tenasserim southwards, the 

 Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra. 



Habits. — The late Mr. W. Davison, who is probably the only 

 European who ever shot this bird in a wild state, says : " These 

 birds frequent the thick evergreen forests in small parties of 

 five or six ; usually there is only one male in the party, the rest 

 being females, but on one or two occasions I have seen two 

 males together ; sometimes the males are found quite alone. 

 I have never heard the males crow, nor do I think that they 

 ever do so ; when alarmed, both males and females have a 

 peculiar sharp note, exceedingly like that of the large Black- 

 backed Squirrel (Sciurus bicolor). The males also continually 

 make a whirring sound with their wings, which can be very 

 well imitated by twirling rapidly between the hands a small 

 stick, in a cleft of which a piece of stiff cloth has been trans- 

 versely placed. I have often discovered the whereabouts of a 

 flock by hearing this noise. They never come into the open, 

 but confine themselves to the forests, feeding on berries, tender 

 leaves, and insects and grubs of all kinds, and they are very 

 fond of scratching about after the manner of domestic poultry, 

 and dusting themselves. When disturbed, they run rapidly 

 away, not in different directions, but all keeping much together ; 

 they rise at once before a dog, getting up with a great flutter, 

 but when once well on the wing, fly with a strong and rapid 

 flight; they seldom alight again under a couple of hundred 

 yards, and usually on the ground, when they immediately start 

 running. 



" I noticed on one occasion a very curious thing. I had 

 stalked an Argus, and while waiting to obtain a good shot, 



