Malayan Ornithology. 531 



into my aviary, where it did exceedingly wcll^ becoming as 

 tame as a barn-door fowl, and running to the door of the 

 aviary when I approached, to take food almost from my 

 hand. On leaving the country I gave this bird to Mr. Hugh 

 Low, H.B.M. Resident, and about two months later heard 

 from him that twice it had escaped into the jungle and had 

 been given up as lost, but on each occasion, after remaining 

 away for about twenty-four hours, it had returned and walked 

 into its cage. 



I think this incident worthy of notice, having often heard 

 that the Argus Pheasant is very difficult to tame. 



Once or twice I received information that some of these 

 Pheasants had been shot ; but on investigation the birds 

 always turned out to be Peacock-Pheasants {Polyplectron 

 bicalcaratum) ; and I never heard of an Argus being obtained 

 with the gun. 



Besides in Perak, I got specimens from near Taeping, in 

 Larut, and from Malacca — at the latter place a sovereign 

 (5 dollars) being the regular charge for a skin. 



While in camp at Kwala Kangsar, we had Argus Pheasants 

 cooked on several occasions, and found them capital eating. 



Polyplectron bicalcaratum (Linn.). The Malayan Pea- 

 cock-Pheasant. 



Not rare in the uninhabited parts of the peninsula ; the 

 natives snared and brought several to our camp at Kwala 

 Kangsar, and told me that they were very plentiful about 

 two days' journey further up the river. Those in my aviary 

 never became tame, hiding directly any one approached ; but 

 they throve remarkably well, feeding on rice and Indian corn. 



Alectrophasis erythrophthalmus (Raffl.) . The Rufous- 

 tailed Pheasant. 



I had one of these Pheasants in my aviary at Kwala 

 Kangsar ; it flourished and became fairly tamed. It fed on 

 rice and Indian corn. I got it from the native who had 

 snared it. There were specimens in the Museum, also in 

 the Botanic Gardens at Singapore. 



